SoundAsABell Initiative
Nonprofit Organization Management - Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
SoundAsABell Initiative Employees
SoundAsABell Initiative Details
Mental disorder, being the fourth leading cause of disability in people aged 15 to 44 years, has often gone unrecognized as a silent epidemic in Nigeria. Owing to structural and systemic barriers such as inadequate health care infrastructure, insufficient number of mental health specialists, lack of access to all levels of care, and most significantly, a lack of proper education on the subject amongst the general public, mental illness and disorder is a neglected and increasingly burdensome problem affecting all segments of the Nigerian populace. In 2015, when the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda, it included 169 interactive and synergistic targets for each member, including Nigeria against 2030. One of these targets requested that member nations reduce by one third, premature mortality and promote mental health and well-being. While the Nigerian government has made efforts to reduce premature mortality vis-à-vis mental illness, there is still an evident illiteracy on the subject as it relates to how the Nigerian society sees young people with mental disorder and the negative stereotypes associated with them. While there seem to be a growing mental health literacy of adults, there has not been a parallel interest in the mental health literacy of young people in Nigeria hence begging the need for a mental health literacy program for the Nigerian youth. That is what SoundAsABell comes in. ...to raise awareness on mental health.This is a project aimed at advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.Together, we will!
