Across Nigeria and indeed the African continent, a young child may be denied of the opportunity to attend school because the child has a seizure disorder. A young adolescent may drop out of the University because of psychosis. A female with mental illness may be taken to a traditional or religious healer where they are chained and may be sexually abused. Others may suffer food deprivation, physical beatings (purportedly for exorcism), and so on. Many affected families are stigmatized and ostracized. Some senior citizens with dementia suffer abuse because the family and caregivers are emotionally exhausted and are at their wit’s end – and simply cannot comprehend what is going on. In some tragic cases, elderly women with dementia have been beaten to death following accusations of witchcraft. Increasingly, more young people are struggling with their emotional well-being and grappling with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal thoughts/behaviour. Recreational drug abuse is on the rise and is causing a devastating impact on our youth, their families, and society at large. In the sea of all these challenges, coupled with the long history of governmental neglect, widespread ignorance, shame, stigma and discrimination, we can begin to appreciate the magnitude of the challenges which persons with mental health challenges and their families go through.
The role of Asido Foundation. Considering the challenges highlighted above, it is clear that there must be concerted efforts to promote mental health awareness, combat the shame and stigma associated with it, and encourage people to seek help and show empathy and support for affected persons and their families. The Asido Foundation (www.asidofoundation) has recorded tremendous progress in the area of mental health advocacy within the spate of 6 short years. We commend the dedication of her members as well as encourage us all to engage in the task of promoting mental health awareness and support for affected persons and their families.
Project Hope, one of Asido Foundation’s projects, is a pilot intervention for homeless people with mental illness. Due to stigma and lack of access to quality care, many people with mental illness are abandoned to roam around the streets. With Project Hope, we aim to select and rehabilitate some of these individuals via the provision of quality mental health care, and psychosocial support. Between 2022 and 2025, we have rehabilitated over 20 homeless persons, with several of them now gainfully employed or establishing a business of their own.
In a bid to promote adolescent and youth mental health, projects like the Asido Kids Challenge, Adolescent Boot Camp for Mental Health, Jemila Abubakar Memorial Essay (JAME) Competition for undergraduates, and the Asido Mental Health Guild were established. With the Asido Kids Challenge, young children promote mental health by creating age-appropriate, friendly and exciting contents on several mental health related topics. The Jemila Abubakar Memorial Essay Competition, in honour of our pioneer program manager, Ms. Jemila Abubakar, is an essay competition that gives undergraduate students the opportunity to contribute to the mental health discourse in the country, and win prizes. The Asido Mental Health Guild is a mental health and leadership training for undergraduate students, while the Adolescent Boot Camp brings mental health education to adolescents and children, during the long holidays of August every year..
One of our most successful initiatives is the Asido Campus Network, the youth arm of the Asido Foundation, which functions as a student-led mental health advocacy club in tertiary institutions across Nigeria. With chapters in over six institutions including Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Lagos State University, and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, the members have championed mental health awareness and peer-to-peer counselling on their campuses.
All of these projects and initiatives have won us multiple awards and grants, including the Nigerian Youth Futures Fund grant by LEAP Africa in 2023; the award for innovation, service, and research in adolescent and youth mental health in Low-and-middle-income-countries by the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH), UK in 2024 amongst others.
Beyond all of these, we are proud to contribute to the increase in mental health awareness across the country; and supported the elimination of the obsolete Lunacy Act of 1958 and its replacement with the Mental Health Act of 2021 -signed into law in 2023. We have also been at the forefront of advocating for the decriminalization of attempted suicide in Nigeria. However, the journey is still far, as we need governmental priority and attention for mental health. Private organizations should include mental health projects as part of their CSR and collaborate with mental health professionals to increase workplace wellbeing amongst their staff. We all have a role to play in ensuring that mental health stigma is reduced and we all live in a Nigeria where optimal mental health is prioritized.
Dr Jibril Abdulmalik
Tribune Article for the column “Your Mental Health & You”
Thursday, 14th August 2025
Asido Foundation
www.asidofoundation.com
Asivuri Consulting
www.asivuri.com
