Two decades after it was stuck in NASS, Buhari assents to first Mental Health Bill

Impelled to ensure that the human rights of the mentally challenged are enforced,
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday signed the Mental Health Bill of 2021 stuck in the National Assembly since 2003.

It is the first Mental Health Act post- independence, and it will replace the Lunacy Act of 1958 which practitioners labelled as outdated and inhumane.

Persecondnews recalls that the bill could not be passed in 2003 and 2013 by the National Assembly.

On November 28 2022, the lawmakers passed the Mental Health Bill, 2021 and forwarded it to Buhari for his assent in the last week of December 2022.

In his reaction, Prof. Taiwo Obindo, the President Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria, was excited that the Bill was signed after over two decades it was stuck in the legislature.

“A final culmination to over two decades of several efforts by the Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria now has an Act/Law on Mental Health governance and we are now part of the global space with best global practice,”he told Persecondnews.

The immediate past President of the association, Prof.Taiwo Sheilk also spoke to persecondnews: “Our profound gratitude to Senator Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Senator Ahmad Abubakar, Dr. Ibrahim Gambari (COS), CBM International, Johnson & Johnson and all our partners.

“After several attempts, by His Grace we finally reached the milestone. We pray that the Lord will reward all those who contributed to the success of this project.”

Some provisions of the National Mental Health Bill include creating a Department of Mental Health Services in the Federal Ministry of Health and a Mental Health Fund.

The law will also address the way and manner mentally ill populations are to be catered for without stigma or discrimination and also form global best practices in enshrining the human rights of the mentally ill, how care can be accessed, and outlawing chaining or other forms of coercion.

The law, among other benefits, will help in making access to care for the mentally ill easier and ensuring that the human rights of the mentally ill are enforced.