Women in Gwale have lamented the neglect of their mental health in the delivery of healthcare services in Kano.
They expressed this during a community enlightenment workshop on mainstreaming mental healthcare in maternal and child healthcare (MNCH) service delivery in Kano.
The workshop which was organized by the Resource Center for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) took place at the Gwale Islamic Center on Wednesday.
Mulikat Magashi, a psychiatrist, stated that Mental health is an integral part of overall health and well-being, yet it is often overlooked in maternal and child healthcare services.
According to her, Mothers and children face unique psychological challenges like maternal depression postpartum anxiety, stress during pregnancy and development of emotional issues in children.
She added: ”When these issues get unaddressed, they can negatively impact not only the mother’s health but also the child’s growth, bonding and long-term development.
“Mental Health is a basic Human right and is crucial to personal, community and socioeconomic development so in this light, it is essential for the government and other stakeholders to prioritize mental health for women.”
She therefore called on relevant stakeholders in the healthcare sector to prioritize mental healthcare of women to ensure wholesome delivery of services.
Aisha Haruna, a resident said women are really suffering from the issues of neglect of their mental health which is alarming.
“I have gone to the hospital at a point when I was having mental health issues and needed help but the doctor on duty gave me drugs for headache, this didn’t help my situation at all.
“We want the government to invest in the areas of mental health because even at the hospitals, they barely know how to handle cases like this.” she stated.
According to another resident Fatima Uba, there is need for more enlightenment on the reality of mental health issues across healthcare centers in the state.
She advocated for the creation of departments in Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) that will handle women’s mental health concerns because PHCs do not have such.
“Government should also provide trained personnel for mental health because healthcare workers who are not specifically trained, cannot address mental health,” she added.
Zuwaira Omar, the Community Mobilization Officer officer of CHRICED explained that mental health issues are silent killers which has caused the untimely death of women in the state.
She noted that mental health appear to be trivialized by the government because Kano state does not a hospital that fully handles mental health.
”The psychiatric hospital at Dawanau has been taken over by the Federal Government, leaving with the responsibility to establish theirs which isn’t available at the moment.
”At CHRICED, we want the Kano government to establish a hospital that will be solely dedicated to mental health,” she said.
