NHRC Urges Affordable Mental Health Care and Stronger Rights Protection

 

By Atlantic Reports

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the Federal Government to expand affordable mental health services and strengthen protections for people living with mental health conditions.

The commission’s Executive Secretary, Dr Tony Ojukwu, SAN, made the call on Monday while addressing journalists to commemorate World Mental Health Day, observed annually on 10 October.

Ojukwu said Nigeria needed urgent, practical measures to bring care closer to communities, improve insurance coverage and increase the number of qualified professionals available to patients.

“We call for more accessible and affordable community-based mental-health services, stronger health-insurance coverage, and increased training and deployment of qualified professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, psychiatric nurses and social workers,” he said.

He also called for full implementation of the National Mental Health Act and Policy, with clear accountability for delivery.

Citing World Health Organization evidence, Ojukwu said mental health needs were particularly significant in communities affected by conflict, displacement, violence and humanitarian emergencies, where access to care remained limited.

He cited a WHO figure indicating that only three per cent of people with mental health conditions in Nigeria were covered by health insurance. The briefing did not identify the report or reference year behind that figure.

Ojukwu said inadequate coverage left individuals and families bearing treatment costs largely on their own.

For people seeking help, his proposals would mean making services available within communities and primary healthcare centres, alongside financial support that reduces the burden of paying directly for care.

He stressed that mental health services must also protect dignity, privacy, equality and people’s ability to make decisions about their lives.

“A human-rights approach to this therefore means seeing and treating people as individuals, not defining them by their mental-health condition,” he said.

Ojukwu said the scale of the challenge required a coordinated national response. Although the commission had introduced some measures, he said other institutions also needed to fulfil their responsibilities. He did not detail those measures in the supplied account.

He pointed to Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as a basis for protecting physical and mental health, describing access to care as a human rights responsibility.

While acknowledging Nigeria’s legislative and policy steps, Ojukwu called for action that translates those commitments into accessible services.

The commission’s appeal centres on both treatment and rights: ensuring people can obtain professional support without unaffordable costs, discrimination or loss of dignity.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.