Foundation woos Journalists toward enhanced mental health awareness campaign in Abia
The Director, Amaudo Integrated Community Mental Health Foundation, Mr Kenneth Nwaubani, has called for collaboration between the organisation and journalists in Abia toward enhancing mental health awareness campaign in the state.
Nwaubani made the call at a one-day seminar for journalists held in Mbukwa-Itumbauzo Community in Bende Local Government Area on Thursday.
The event was organised by the foundation, in collaboration with Abia Government, the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital and Amaudo United Kingdom.
The director said that there were a lot of misconceptions associated with mental illness and that the media had the capacity to change the narrative.
“Stigmatisation, poor mental health knowledge, poor funding, local and political instability, poor road infrastructure, absence of power as well as worsening social and environmental issues are challenges faced by the foundation.
“Collaboration is one of the key drivers of our success in the line of duty.
“Strong partnership with the government, foreign organisations, families, local communities, has gone a long way to reduce the cases of mental relapse after rehabilitating any mentally challenged person,” Nwaubani said.
He described the partnership among the stakeholders as an integral part of helping persons diagnosed with mental illness to recover and become reintegrated into society.
He said that with collaborative efforts from journalists, the effort made by the foundation to provide wholistic and cost-effective treatment, address the mysteries, stigma, discrimination and misconceptions associated with the phenomenon would be highly effective.
Also, the Managing Director of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Enugu, Prof. Monday Igwe, said that “one in every four persons experience mental disorder in a lifetime, while one in every 24 adults is under severe mental disorder”.
Igwe, represented by Dr Okwudili Obayi, said that misconceptions associated with mental illness had made persons with mental illness to become victims of abuse.
He said that journalists had a role to play in educating the public on mental health to change the wrong perceptions about mentally-ill persons.
“When writing your report, focus on the individuals not the mental condition.
“For example, instead of writing, ‘He is mad’, you can write, ‘He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia’.
“The media professional has positive impact on passing information on mental health and the focus should be to ensure proper presentation of psychiatric disorders to the public,” Igwe said.
In a remark, the Chairman of Amaudo Board of Management, Mr Emma Ndukwe, said that he was optimistic that the event would create a paradigm shift that would produce better results in the mental health awareness campaign.
Ndukwe said that the foundation had been at the forefront of raising mental health awareness, adding that the interface between the foundation and journalists would take it to greater heights. (NAN)
