Policy Advocacy

  • National Mental Health Bill, 2020 – advocacy to ensure the passage and  implementation of Nigeria’s Mental Health Law. Current mental health  legislation named the Lunacy Act of 1958 is a British colonial holdover. The  legislation is archaic, ineffective, and deprives human rights.  

  • Suicide Prevention – campaign to decriminalize suicide and establish a National Suicide Prevention Strategy. It is imperative a country with the highest suicide rate in Africa and the sixth-highest globally manage suicidal persons effectively to enable access to better treatment and destigmatization.

Data & Information

  • State of Mental Health Index – a report that generates data, ranks mental  health at the state level, and highlights sub-national policy and programming  changes by using national surveys, assessing states' and community’s  mental health needs, and garnering insights on the ability to access care. A  report or recognition of Nigerian business performance in mental health is  also possible. 

  • Multimedia Series – a behavior change campaign featuring a TV drama  series (or talk show), accompanied by radio, digital, social media, and on the-ground educational activities, which integrates mental health  messaging into storylines or interviews that reflect the experiences of youth  audiences. 

  • Crisis Hotline – implementing a national 112 suicide prevention and mental  health crises hotline to ensure emergency care in all States. Currently, only  Abuja, the country’s Federal Capital, has a functioning government phone in system, operating at a limited capacity. 

  • Curriculum – developing and mainstreaming mental health curriculum and training, especially in educational settings, to improve mental health services in schools, cultivate practitioners, and grow professionals in the field.

Wellness & Support for Communities

  • Community Healing Workshops – events based on wellness and spiritual  enrichment, often more accessible to individuals from non-Western  backgrounds. Workshops will include guided meditations, sound baths for  relaxation and stress relief, deep listening sessions, somatic therapy, and  discussions on how traditional spiritual practices can aid self-care and  mental health.  

  • Immersive Conference – a forum of educational and experiential mental  health activities such as virtual reality mental health simulations, yoga, truth  circles, art and music therapy, documentary film installations, advocacy  messaging, co-created panel sessions, etc.  

  • Safe Spaces – facilitated peer-centered therapy circles where personal mental health concerns are discussed with anonymity and vulnerability.