By Danhassan Abubakar
A Senior Psychiatry Registrar at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Dr. Yakub Fauwaz Farouq, has urged Nigerians to stop stigmatising people with mental health conditions by calling them “mad.”
Speaking in Bauchi on Saturday at an event to mark World Mental Health Day, organised by PLAN International in collaboration with the Bauchi State Government and funded by Global Affairs Canada, Dr. Farouq said mental illness is treatable and no one is immune.
“Most of us have suffered from depression and anxiety, which are very common. Without care and support, it can become worse and progress to psychosis,” he said.
The psychiatrist, who is also CEO of Sa’a Specialist Clinic, Gida Dubu, called for full implementation of the National Mental Health Policy 2023, which provides for subsidised and free mental health services and protects the rights of patients with sanctions including fines and imprisonment for violators.