A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Idimma Health Initiative, Thursday, kicked-off a two-day training for over 50 Police Officers in Kaduna.
The NGO works towards bringing mental wellness to every community in Nigeria and Africa.
The training aimed at equipping police officers with skills to identify mental health cases and provide mental health support when they are called upon.
The Executive Director, Idimma Health Initiative, Aisha Bubah, said, “We are here to train our police officers in Kaduna State on psychological first aid which is basically equipping them with skills to be able to identify mental health issues when they are being called into crisis situations, to be able to handle it and respond to such cases better, most especially the cases of suicide attempt”.
She raised an alarm on the rising cases of mental health issues in Nigeria, saying the figures are increasing on daily basis.
She explained that suicide is a criminal offense in Nigeria, but suicide is a mental health issue, she said.
Bubah said, “Training police officers on mental health is key because most times they are first to be called when crisis occur especially suicide cases. They are first to attend to it, even the ones related to injuries.
“So, imagine if we have officers who are trained on mental health, they will be able to identify people who need mental healthcare faster and ensure they get that care before anything else”.
She noted that as at 2016 study by World Health Organization (WHO) shows that over 20 per cent of Nigerians live with a mental health condition, adding that COVID-19 pandemic, global wars and economic crisis has triggered mental health issues.
“We all estimate that the number should have doubled by now. We have a large population of Nigeria who are struggling with their mental health and we are seeing more cases of suicide being reported daily. The mental health crisis is much more than we have ever experienced,” she said.
Earlier, the Commissioner of Police Kaduna State command, CP Ibrahim Abdullahi, commended the initiative, saying the training is timely.
He noted that the training is not only useful to police but also to the general public.