January 06, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law, the Mental Health Bill harmonised by the Senate and House of Representatives in 2021.
Prof. Taiwo Obindo, President of the Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria (APN), who confirmed the signing, called it a huge relief for the nation’s mental health profession and care.
He described it as a great relief to the mental health care and practice in the country.
“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 said.
With the new law, the Lunacy Act of 1958, which practitioners condemn as outdated and inhumane, will cease to be effective.
The establishment of a Department of Mental Health Services in the Federal Ministry of Health and a Mental Health Fund are some of the provisions of the National Mental Health Bill
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