Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICHED) has raised concern over the growing cases of mental health challenges among women in Kano State, calling for the urgent establishment of a psychiatric hospital to support affected women.
Speaking at a community enlightenment programme organised by the center in Gwale, Kano, CHRICHED’s Community Mobilisation Officer, Zuwairah Omar Muhammad, described maternal mental health as a silent killer that is often ignored until it results in extreme cases.
“Many women silently go through depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges, but our society dismisses it as issues of jinn, co-wives or cultural problems. That is why sometimes you see a mother harming her children, attempting to hurt herself or even her husband, and people fail to connect it to mental health.
“That is why we organised this program to create awareness and encourage government action on the issue,” she said.
Zuwairah stressed that the absence of a dedicated psychiatric hospital in Kano worsens the situation.
“As it stands today, Kano has no psychiatric hospital. The Dawanau facility was taken over by the Federal Government, and what we have at Murtala Hospital are just clinical consultations during weekdays. Where then do families take mothers in crisis? This is why we are demanding that the government urgently establish a psychiatric hospital in the state,” she added.
Also speaking at the event, Hajiya Mulikat Muhammad Magashi, a psychiatrist, while delivering a topic on “Mainstreaming Mental Healthcare in Maternal and Child Health Service Delivery” explained that mental health remains an integral part of maternal and child care but is often overlooked.
She noted that mothers face unique challenges such as depression, anxiety during pregnancy, and postpartum disorders.
“Globally, about 10 percent of pregnant women and 13 percent of new mothers experience mental health disorders, with perinatal depression being the most common. In Nigeria, the number is even higher, as 20 to 25 percent of women are affected,” Magashi explained.
She listed some common issues faced by mothers after childbirth, including baby blues, postpartum depression, anxiety disorder, and in rare but severe cases, postpartum psychosis.
Magashi urged health workers to show empathy instead of shouting at women in distress.
She also appealed to communities to stop the stigma around mental health and give more support to mothers.
“The government must also provide more trained psychiatrists and address the problem of limited resources,” she said.
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