Media practitioners within the South-East have urged the federal government in any respect ranges to provide satisfactory consideration to psychological well being points and equip services on the Major healthcare degree to handle instances regarding psychological well being.
The decision got here Thursday, at Amaudo Itumbauzo in Bende LGA on the finish of a One Day Seminar organised for Media Practitioners within the Southeast with the theme: “Altering The Narratives In Psychological Well being, The Function Of The Media”, organised by the Methodist Church Nigeria, Amaudo Built-in Psychological Well being Basis, in partnership with Abia State Authorities, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Enugu, and Amaudo UK, on Thursday.
In a communique issued on the finish of the seminar which was geared toward educating the media practitioners on primary psychological well being points and their function in creating consciousness for environment friendly and human-right-based psychological well being care in Nigeria, the contributors known as on the Federal Authorities to make the examine of psychological well being and different associated programs enticing to handle the scarcity of manpower within the psychological well being sub-sector.
Whereas calling for elevated budgetary provisions in direction of tackling psychological well being points and provision of incentives for medical practitioners and Journalists within the area, the contributors additionally known as for the strengthening of related authorities businesses saddled with the accountability of regulating drug use to limit entry to medication, particularly among the many youthful inhabitants.
They equally known as on State Governments to cultivate and implement the brand new psychological well being act lately signed into regulation by the speedy previous administration of President Mohammadu Buhari, advising that specialists in psychological well being space must be open to discussing psychological health-related points with the media as a method of training the general public whereas households of victims of psychological ailing well being must be inspired to accommodate and help them appropriately and keep away from stigmatization.
Lack of satisfactory information within the space as a problem was recognized, therefore the necessity for normal seminars/coaching for Media Practitioners on psychological well being points as a method of correctly equipping them to remove bias of their reportage and improve the publicity given to psychological well being points.
They known as on Media organisations “to design and dedicate satisfactory time to publicising psychological well being points of their numerous media outfits as a method of enhancing sensitization of the general public”.
They recommended the organizers for placing up this system at a time many Nigerians are grappling with the tough financial challenges occasioned by anti – Folks’s insurance policies able to triggering psychological well being considerations among the many populace and in addition recommended the administration of Amaudo Built-in Psychological Well being Basis for the large humanitarian companies they’re rendering and known as on the federal government to urgently handle points akin to lack of entry highway, electrical energy and different infrastructural deficits within the space as a method of encouraging the inspiration.
The organizers, led by the Director of the centre, Very Rev’d Kenneth Nwaubani expressed their perception that the seminar would equally educate the media organisations on their function in creating consciousness of psychological well being and handle poor psychological well being information, damaging socio-cultural and spiritual perceptions and interpretations of psychological well being that promote stigma and discrimination in addition to scale back help-seeking behaviors in psychological well being among the many inhabitants.
They pleaded with governments in any respect ranges to help the centre with funds and highway infrastructure which they’ve been battling with since 1989 when the centre was established.
The seminar was attended by media practitioners from Abia and Imo states.