By Atlantic Reports

Two rehabilitation facilities in Imo State are struggling with funding shortages, deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate supplies, according to their managers, limiting their ability to care for people experiencing mental health difficulties, drug dependence and destitution.

The facilities are the Imo State Rehabilitation Centre for Destitutes at Umuneke Ngor, Ngor Okpala Local Government Area, and the rehabilitation unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Imo Command, on Aba Road, Owerri.

Their accounts highlight pressures on residential care, from feeding and medication to water supply, accommodation and vocational training for people preparing to return to their communities.

State Centre Reports ₦150,000 Monthly Support

The priest in charge of the Umuneke Ngor centre, Fr. John Okafor, speaking through his assistant, Rev. Stanley Okoroafor, said the facility currently accommodates 75 residents.

Although designed for 100 people, deterioration of its male and female hostels has reduced its usable capacity to 80, he said.

The centre has been managed by the Missionary Companions of St. Dunstan since August 2024. According to Okafor, it provides care for people experiencing trauma, depression, other mental health conditions and drug abuse.

He said the state government provides a monthly subvention of ₦150,000, identifying inadequate funding as a major constraint on its operations.

The staffing figures he supplied included seven domestic staff, comprising two cooks, three security guards and two psychiatric nurses, alongside three seminarians and a priest.

Okafor also reported rising medical supply costs, unreliable electricity and difficulties accessing the centre because of the condition of the Ihitte–Umukabia and Ulakwo–Umuneke roads.

Solar power has been installed in the administrative building, but the centre still relies on a petrol-powered generator to pump water, he said.

“We also need one additional water storage tank to make them two to enable us to meet our daily need, after losing one to thieves,” he said.

Beyond treatment, the centre offers training in sewing, plumbing, barbering and small business activities.

Okafor described the return of a woman in her 60s to her family after two years of care as an encouraging outcome. He said she had experienced mental health difficulties for about 20 years.

Some residents, however, have no traceable relatives, creating additional challenges in arranging accommodation and support after recovery.

NDLEA Unit Seeks Better Accommodation and Equipment

At the NDLEA facility, the Head of Counselling, Treatment and Rehabilitation, Dr Edith Chinwe-Thompson, said shortages of infrastructure and household equipment were affecting care.

The unit has a 20-bed capacity and serves mainly young people, including those brought voluntarily by their parents and people detained for drug-related offences who require mental health attention, she said.

Residents are initially admitted for three months, with a possible further three months depending on their progress.

Chinwe-Thompson said feeding was a substantial expense and appealed for support to improve food provision. She also identified shortages of mattresses, cupboards and other basic items.

“We need a standard rehabilitation facility, a stand-alone facility, not one that is built inside the command’s complex,” she said.

She requested sporting equipment, an alternative power source and additional vocational training tools.

According to her, the agency renovated the facility about four years ago and supplied a sewing machine. Residents have also begun producing soap, toilet cleaner and other items as part of preparations for life after discharge.

Chinwe-Thompson put the facility’s treatment success rate at more than 90 per cent. However, the supplied account did not specify how success was measured, the number of people assessed or the duration of follow-up after discharge.

Recovery Requires Sustained Support

Private counsellor and psychologist Mrs Winnie Obodo called for greater government investment and public support for rehabilitation, describing the work as capital intensive.

The accounts from both facilities point to needs extending beyond admission and treatment. Reliable accommodation, adequate staffing, medicines, food and opportunities to earn a living are central to the support their managers say residents require.

The supplied material did not include a state government response to the reported funding and infrastructure gaps or a timetable for addressing them.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.