Kaduna State Enhances Mental Health Services in Healthcare

During the 2026 World Mental Health Day celebration at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna, Governor Sani, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma Ahmad, announced the integration of mental health services into the state's healthcare system. The initiative includes the training and certification of 100 doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from 10 general hospitals under the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP).

Mental health screening is now part of routine maternal and child health services, with plans to extend these services to all 30 general hospitals and primary healthcare facilities across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State. The governor praised the hospital's Medical Director, Professor Aishatu Yusha’u Armiya’u, for her contributions and highlighted the launch of a telepsychiatry program to assist patients in remote areas.

Professor Armiya’u emphasized the importance of collective responsibility in mental health and acknowledged the Kaduna State Mental Health Law enacted in September 2025.