Only Three Nigerian States Have Adopted Mental Health Act, Psychiatrists Say

LAGOS, NIGERIA — Five years after the passage of the National Mental Health Act, only three of Nigeria’s 36 states have domesticated the legislation, leaving over 90 percent of young Nigerians who require psychiatric care without access to formal treatment. Speaking at the Vanguard Mental Health Summit in Lagos, leaders from the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) cautioned that delayed implementation of mental health in nigeria policies severely undermines public health and social stability.

According to APN President Dr. Veronica Nyamali, only Lagos, Ekiti, and Kaduna states have formally adopted the law. Psychiatrists urged remaining state governments to domesticate the act and called on the Federal Government to establish and fund a dedicated Department of Mental Health.

State Adoption Profile and Mental Health in Nigeria

Data presented by psychiatric leaders and public health experts highlights significant policy implementation gaps across the federation:

Governance & Clinical Indicators	National Metrics & Policy Status
Legislation Adoption Rate	3 of 36 states (Lagos, Ekiti, Kaduna) have domesticated the 2021 Act
Untreated Youth Population	>90% of young Nigerians needing psychiatric support go untreated
Youth Depression & Anxiety	~30% depressive symptoms and >33% anxiety in surveyed secondary students
Suicidal Ideation Burden	Nearly 1 in 12 students report suicidal thoughts (Enugu study)

Structural Priorities for Mental Health in Nigeria

To decentralize psychiatric services and integrate behavioral healthcare into primary care settings, health advocates have outlined core execution priorities for mental health in nigeria:

• State-Level Domestications: Accelerating state assembly passage of local mental health bills to allocate dedicated sub-national health budgets.

• Decriminalization of Suicide: Repealing laws that penalize attempted suicide, shifting focus toward clinical crisis intervention and psychological support.

• Community-Based Service Integration: Transitioning care from centralized urban psychiatric hospitals to primary health centers closer to rural communities.

 

 

Workforce Constraints, Stigma, and Chronic Disease

The severe deficit of trained mental health professionals in Nigeria is exacerbated by brain drain and geographic concentration in federal neuropsychiatric hospitals. Consequently, most citizens turn first to traditional or religious healers. In addition to social stigma that deters early help-seeking, untreated psychiatric conditions frequently co-occur with chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, and HIV, reducing medication adherence and worsening overall patient outcomes.

Without legislative frameworks, dedicated budgets, and community care networks across all 36 states, the progressive rights and care standards promised by the 2021 National Mental Health Act will remain inaccessible to the millions of young Nigerians who need them most.

Why It Matters: Without state-level laws and funded budgets, the National Mental Health Act cannot deliver accessible, community-based care to the millions of young Nigerians facing unmanaged mental health challenges.

Source: The Guardian (Nigeria) Report, October 12, 2026.