Kaduna has integrated mental health into primary, secondary healthcare — Uba Sani

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, says his administration has integrated mental healthcare into the state’s primary and secondary health systems, describing the initiative as a model for decentralised and rights-based treatment.

Sani disclosed this on Friday during the 2026 World Mental Health Day celebration at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Barnawa, Kaduna.

Represented by the Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma K. Ahmad, the governor said Kaduna had trained and certified its first cohort of 100 doctors, nurses and pharmacists from 10 general hospitals under the World Health Organisation’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP).

He added that mental health screening had become part of routine maternal and child health services in the state.

“We are extending services to all 30 General Hospitals and to primary health care facilities in all 23 Local Government Areas, while strengthening and expanding access at the tertiary level,” he said.

The governor described the approach as a human rights-focused and evidence-based model designed to improve access to mental healthcare through collaboration between the federal institution and the state government.

He commended the Medical Director of FNPH, Professor Aishatu Yusha’u Armiya’u, for her contributions to healthcare delivery in Kaduna State.

Sani also highlighted the hospital’s dialysis centre, which he said treats septic patients who previously had limited access to such care, as well as its newly launched telepsychiatry programme.

According to him, the programme will help patients in hard-to-reach communities access specialist mental healthcare while reducing travel costs and delays.

He added that telepsychiatry would enable specialists at the hospital to support health workers in primary and secondary healthcare facilities across the state.

Speaking at the event, Armiya’u called for greater public understanding of mental health, urging individuals to check on family members, friends and colleagues, listen to people experiencing difficulties and seek professional help when necessary.

She stressed that mental health was a shared responsibility and called for kindness and understanding towards people living with mental health conditions.

The medical director also commended the state government for its investment in healthcare, particularly the enactment of the Kaduna State Mental Health Law in September 2025.

She said the law marked an important step towards protecting the rights and dignity of people living with mental health conditions.

Armiya’u further disclosed that FNPH had collaborated with the Kaduna State Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (KADSAMHSA) to train and certify multidisciplinary health workers drawn from primary healthcare centres across the state’s 23 local government areas under the WHO’s mhGAP programme.

She added that the hospital had introduced a Smart Digital Patient Card to give patients easier access to their personal details, medical histories, treatment records and appointments.

The card also supports electronic payments as part of the hospital’s transition towards a more efficient, increasingly paperless system.