With one suicide death occurring every 40 seconds, suicide is a serious worldwide problem. Suicide rates have been growing in Nigeria, where 50 million individuals suffer from mental diseases. More than 75% of people with mental or neurological diseases do not receive treatment, despite the mounting epidemic. Nigerian suicide rates increased from 9.5 per 100,000 in 2016 to 15 per 100,000 in 2018, yet it’s possible that these figures are understated because of social stigmas and the consequences of attempting self-murder that come with the law.
According to experts like Prof. Taiwo James Obindo, 90% of those who try self-murder have Mental Health problems, which are mostly brought on by stress from Nigeria’s Security and economic problems. Depression is also a major contributing factor to suicide attempts. Through the National Suicide Strategy Framework (2023–2030), the Nigerian government is attempting to decriminalise attempted self-murder in order to better access mental health care and bring the country into line with international best practices. The WHO highlights that as many more people attempt suicide than are reported, there needs to be a change from stigma to prevention and support.
Nigeria is lagging behind in terms of mental health facilities.
In order to solve the problem and promote a more compassionate society, open communication and teamwork are considered essential. The number of suicides in Nigeria is concerning, since it increased from 9.5 per 100,000 people in 2016 to 15 per 100,000 people by 2018. In comparison, the self-murder rate in Nigeria is still far higher than that of several other African countries, such as Ghana, where the rate is closer to 5.4 per 100,000. However, Nigeria’s self-murder rate is lower than that of global leaders in suicide, such as South Korea, which had a rate of 24.6 per 100,000 in 2021.
However, Nigeria’s incidence is alarming when compared to nations with stronger mental health facilities, like Germany (9.3 per 100,000) or the United Kingdom (7.9 per 100,000). This is especially true given the underreporting caused by social stigma and harsh Legislation against suicide attempts. Nigeria is lagging behind in terms of mental health facilities. Recent sources state that the nation has less than 250 practicing psychiatrists, an extremely low number given the population of approximately 200 million. Psychiatrists number over 900 in South Africa, despite the country’s smaller size.
There are only 8 mental health hospitals across the country.
Rural areas have even less access to care due to the shortage of mental health specialists and facilities, placing a pressure on regional services. Throughout the entire nation, there are only 8 mental health hospitals, the majority of which are located in large cities like Lagos and Abuja. In underprivileged areas in particular, this lack of Infrastructure makes the mental health crisis worse. There are preliminary indications of improvement following the adoption of the National Suicide Strategic Framework (2023–2030). As attempted self-murder has historically deterred people from getting care, the Nigerian government is trying to decriminalise it.
Also, there are now initiatives aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues, and the government has promised to train more mental health experts and include mental health services into primary healthcare in order to expand the number of mental health workers. It is anticipated that this transition to a community-based care model will lessen the strain on specialty hospitals and improve service accessibility for people living in rural locations. The National Suicide Strategy Framework will be implemented gradually, with an initial emphasis on decriminalisation and stigma reduction.
Related Article: FG Should Legalize Attempted Suicide-APN
Increasing the number of mental health specialists by thirty percent and providing mental health services to all 36 states are among the mid-term aims (2025–2027). A 20% decrease in self-murder rates is the government’s target for a national system of integrated care by 2030. Reductions in the rates of untreated mental illness, a decline in the suicide rate in all regions, especially among vulnerable groups including youth and rural people, and enhanced access to mental health care will be used to gauge success at each stage.