Don’t incorporate suicide decriminalisation bill into National Mental Health Act – Sheikh

…As treatment gap in Nigeria hits 85%
By Providence Ayanfeoluwa
Professor of Psychiatry at the Ahmadu Bello Universiy. Zaria, Prof Taiwo Sheikh, has cautioned against moving the suicide bill that is before National Assembly and subsume it into the National Mental Health Act, saying it is wrong.
In his keynote address at the Vanguard Mental Health Summit 3.0 with the theme: “Taming the Rising Tide of Suicide in Nigeria”, Sheikh said government must be held accountable when it comes to policies on mental health, even as he argued that the objective of the National Mental Health Act is about those who have mental illness.
His words: “That law is for people under the body of mental health condition.
So if you subsume suicide prevention law into the Mental Health Act, it means if you do not have a diagnosis of mental illness, that law will not protect you. That is what it means. And we tell those who are doing this that, that cannot work.
“We need to stand the law, a comprehensive suicide prevention law in Nigeria that takes care holistically of anything about suicide, including post-prevention.
Care for relations of those who have died of suicide or attempted suicide and decriminalisation of attempted suicide.
“That is what the law should be. To set up a fund for suicide prevention, address the social determinants of suicide among young people in Nigeria, provide jobs, support them in school.
“That is what the draft before the National Assembly contains. Setting up a fund for suicide prevention, including access to that fund by those who have attempted suicide.
“When you identify their social needs, you draw from the fund to support them. Setting up suicide collection data where there is no data, there is no plan.”
On treatment gap, he said poor access to effective mental health services is a major risk factor, especially among young people. He pointed out that the mental health treatment gap in Nigeria is about 85 percent, which means only 15 per cent of people with severe mental health conditions access treatment in the past 12 months.
“That is what is called the mental health treatment gap. So we have a lot of young people moving around with untreated mental health conditions. You can understand why the rate is so high among young people. They have no access to mental health care. It’s not there.
“Fifteen per cent in some communities in Nigeria is up to 95 percent mental health treatment gap. Only five per cent of people who deserve the treatment can only access it. That is what it means.
“And that is fuelling suicidality in our communities. Often people who are considering suicide are dealing with a combination of mental health conditions and difficult life events. The determinants of mental health conditions are similar and related but not the same.
“Suicide is not everything about mental health, so let us know that, because a lot of people assume that once you hear anything suicidal, the person must have a mental illness. It is not true. Mental illness is part of suicide, but suicide is not mental illness.
“So there are people who are saying we should move the suicide bill that is before the National Assembly and subsume it into the National Mental Health Act. This is wrong, “ he asserted.
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