The major challenge in managing mental health disorder is lack of access to affordable healthcare services...
Dr. Christopher Piwuna, a psychiatric specialist has advocated access to affordable mental healthcare services to manage growing mental disorders in Nigeria.
At an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, 12th April, 2017 in Abuja. Piwuna, who is the present Chairman, Committee on Mental Health Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), disclosed that except the nation improves access to affordable healthcare services the subsisting problem would endure.
He equally lamented the patchy provision for health facilities in the Nigeria, noting that majority of health facilities are in the city centres, while most rural areas are abandoned.
According to Piwuna, “The major challenge in managing mental health disorder is lack of access to affordable healthcare services and this can only be achieved through the implementation of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC)". He equally posited that the NMA's projection is for a country where issues of lack of basic healthcare requirements and services, if provided, will leave no one behind.
Speaking as a medical authority further, Piwuna noted that Nigeria has grossly inadequate psychiatrist to meet the nation’s increasing mental health challenges as against a close margin distribution in developed countries.
He concluded by stating that there is therefore need to train and retrain psychiatrists to bridge the growing gap mental healthcare service.
