Dr. Paul Agbo, Consultant Psychiatrist at the symposium.

NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia

The absence of trained grassroots caregivers and drugs to administer to patients with mental health challenges are the main reasons for the number of psychiatric conditions and suicides recorded in Nasarawa State. This was made known at a Tuesday’s symposium commemorating the 2024 World Suicide-Prevention Day held in Lafia. The lead speaker at the programme, Dr Paul Agbo raised the alarm about the lack of awareness of suicide-triggers and the lack of drugs to solve such problems at the primary healthcare centres and general hospitals in the state.

The consultant psychiatrist at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, also decried the lack of expert personnel to deal with mental health-related conditions in the state. He noted that Nasarawa State has only one psychiatrist in the Lafia zone, two in Keffi in the employ of the Federal Medical Centre and an unascertained number in the other part of the state, hence the doctor-to-patient ratio is grossly abysmal. Therefore, he implored the government to train more staff to be able to provide some level of services to patients at the community level to avoid complications arising from late dictation and care of suicide triggers.

Gov. Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa to train more mental health personnel.

Speaking broadly on the causes, types and prevention of suicide, Dr. Agbo identified changes in economic situations, mental health conditions, and social media glamourisation of suicide reportage which could then lead to copycat suicides, and previous attempts of suicide as some of the risk factors. He therefore advised people to look out for final goodbye notes, severe mental health issues like depression, disconnection from societal status, extreme mood swings, people who talk about death and dying, dangerous self-harming actions, selling and giving away personal belongings, talking about suicide and playing hit songs that consistent portray the meaninglessness of life and dying, among others and report same for quick response and care for the victims.  He advised people to counter the feeling of suicide by taking up a life skill, promoting self-esteem and worth, building strong relationships with family, friends, and colleagues and having a strong cultural identity, etc.

On the place of the media in preventing the suicides, the specialist advised reporters to be circumspect in their reportage. “The media ought to be trained on sensible media reportage of suicide. The ethics of their profession, which we presume, include respect, dignity, empathy, and non-malfeasance, also suggests that autonomy must be applied to the fullest.” he implored the media to be mindful of the attention and interest generated from reporting suicide cases because “The idea is to prevent the ‘Werther effect’ which is a phenomenon where cases of suicide increase after the publication of suicide news, due to imitation of copycat,” he implored.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. John Damina, said the State government is putting in place, measures to address incidences of suicide in the State. Some of these, he submitted, include collaboration with partners to address the challenges of mental health and suicide triggers. “We had to bring this up for people to know that for someone to think of taking his life is an abnormal situation. The brain has its normal way of regulating everything that comes out of the nerves. But when it starts coming out abnormally, it will play on the receptors, the key points that trigger movements or action.” He added that it is imperative to “Let people know that some drugs can discharge the adrenaline or dopamine etc, and when they are discharging, they trigger abnormal behaviour; like adrenaline, if it is very high, when you are on top of a very high building, you will think that you are just on a stool and you could just jump down. So, if we can take those traces by creating awareness, and going into discussions, I think it will help people to know. Again, you can reduce them, you can regulate them.”

In his contribution, Dr. Ibrahim Adamu, the director of Public Health in the Ministry said the symposium with organised to create awareness among relevant stakeholders on the way forward in the prevention of suicide. This inaugural edition of the programme, he said was clarion call on all concerned to rise and tackle issues that could lead to suicide. “It is time for us to understand suicide or attempted suicide are diseases like all other diseases, we should prevent them. When we see cases of attempted suicide, we should have the opportunity to treat or manage the cases,” the health practitioner advised.

The symposium themed Changing the Narrative on Suicide drew attendance from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, civil society groups, and Nigerian Correctional Service. The event was organised by the State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, CHAI.