Borno State Government in collaboration with the World Bank under the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project, has trained 60 medical workers on mental health and psycho-social support.
Chief Medical Director of the state Health Management Board, Prof. Abubakar Kullima represented by the Director of Medical Services, Dr. Idris Ali explained at the end of the five-day training on Tuesday that the trainees were drawn from primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities in the state.
He said the training was timely in view of the large number of people suffering from psychological trauma, occasioned by exposure to some gruesome activities of the insurgents.
Kullima advocated the inclusion of mental health and psycho-social support in the curriculum of colleges of health education in addition to quarterly training of workers.
Director of Umoru Shehu Center, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Maiduguri, Dr. Falmata Baba-Shettima said the management of trauma was central to human health and needed to be taken seriously.
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Dr Ibrahim Adamu, said that mental health accounts for 13 per cent of the global burden of diseases, adding that 75 to 90 per cent of people with mental issues do not get treatment due to poverty or ignorance.
A resource person, Dr Asmau Chibadu, noted that the training would also provide integrated treatment to patients with trauma and other conditions.
“The training will also spur the medical personnel to know more about mental health for proper identification, management, referral and treatment,” he said.
Dr Ogualiki Placy of General Hospital Marama and Dr Ishaku Dickson of Monguno General Hospital who spoke on behalf of the trainees said the training was meaningful and had added a lot to their knowledge.
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