Project Hope: Mental Health and Resilience Training Project.

Gede Foundation began the second phase of Mental Health and Resilience Training Project. The pilot Project started and ended in the Federal Capital Territory in June 2022. The second phase started in September 2022, and will be implemented in 4 states-Akwa Ibom,Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa. The Project aimed at building resilience among Healthcare Workers,to ensure the promotion of their mental wellbeing .

In partnership with the State Ministries of Health and Primary Health Development Agencies,the Project will train 2000 healthcare workers including Doctors,Nurses,CHEWs and Laboratory Scientists.

Advocacy visits to Federal Medical Centres in the selected states had started to set the grounds for partnership engagement with the public health institutions.

The Project is funded by Project HOPE, USA.

Courtesy visit by Project HOPE to Gede

Project HOPE team led by its President /CEO visited Gede Foundation on 23rd May,2022, to discuss the current partnership engagement between the two organizations. The partnership is on training frontline Healthcare Workers in the Federal Capital Territory on Mental Health and Resilience.

The training is meant to provide the needed skills and knowledge to support Health Workers to cope with the stress and mental health problems associated with their daily tasks as they care for patients, especially from COVID-19 complications. The training in ongoing in all the 6 Area Councils in Abuja.

Project HOPE has been responding to the COVID-19 outbreak since late January 2020, through distribution of PPEs, capacity building of healthcare workers around the world and deploying medical volunteers helping health systems ensure continuity of services. 

Africa CDC and Project HOPE acknowledges the role of healthcare workers at the frontline of the fight against the virus and recognizes the heavy burden threatening their physical and mental wellbeing.

Gede is coordinating the training programme and is offering the needed intervention that will support the delivery of healthcare services in health facilities. It is expected that this programme will be expanded to more target audiences as it is noted by the WHO that ‘there is no health without mental health’

Gede Joins 5K Walk with Gordon Barett

On Saturday 21st May, 2022, Gede Foundation joined Gordon Barett and several individuals for a 5KM walk for Mental Health titled, “Inner Peace is Priority.” 

The walk was very exciting and informative. One of the benefits that people got from the walk is not only the physical workout but also a mental workout. Before the walk commenced, Gordon Barett ensured that all participants had their blood pressure and sugar levels checked. There was also a trainer available to ensure that all participants stretched before and after the walk. They also provided security, road safety and exciting music to listen to while participants walked.

The walk commenced and ended at City Park in Wuse 2, Abuja. Gede’s ‘Champions’ took this opportunity to talk to people about their experiences with mental health and how important inner peace is. The reception was very positive and some people even joined in to follow up and continue conversations. 

We hope to be a part of more exciting events such as this one!! Please follow our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

HIV and Mental Health - Key Considerations

People living with HIV are at high risk of mental, nervous system and substance use disorders and mental health disorders can affect general health, adherence to ARV drugs and retention in care. Although chronic HIV care settings provide an opportunity to support and integrate the management of mental health disorders among people living with HIV, this is often overlooked by health systems. Despite effective prevention and treatments for common mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, and substance use conditions in people living with HIV which can be implemented in low- and middle-income countries, treatment and care for these conditions are often not integrated into packages of essential services and care.

This joint publication by UNAIDS and WHO emphasizes the importance of integrating HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care and mental health services for people living with HIV. It provides a compilation of tools, best practices, recommendations and guidelines that facilitate the integration of interventions and services to address the interlinked issues of mental health and HIV. This publication is intended for global, regional and national policy-makers; programme implementers including at subnational levels; organizations working in and providers of HIV and mental health services; civil society; and community-based and community-led organizations and community-led organizations and advocates.

Culled from World Health Organization.

Gede participates in a workshop on SUCCEED

On 17th and 18th March 2022, Gede participated in a 2-day workshop organised by CBM Global and aimed at strengthening the capacity of leaders of Organisations of People with Disabilities (OPDs) for a project called SUCCEED.  

SUCCEED (SUpport, Comprehensive Care and Empowerment for people with psychosocial Disabilities). The SUCCEED project is a research association involving 5 countries namely Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and is coordinated by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). SUCCEED will build on principles of co-production and South-South partnership to create regional centres of excellence in research, capacity-building, and outreach on psychosocial disabilities. This programme will involve developing and testing new models of Community-Based Rehabilitation for people with psychosis using the principle of working closely with people with lived experience of psychosis in participating West and Southeast African field sites. 

The workshop was held at Catholic Secretariat in Durumi, Abuja. Among organisations present were Gede Foundation (GF), Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI), Joint National Association of People With Disabilities (JONAPWD), She Writes Woman (SWW) and others. 

On day 1, participants were welcomed by Ekaette Umoh, the Country Directory for CBM Global. They then went ahead to share experiences about their collective work as well as exploring challenges and opportunities in Mental Health and Psychosocial disabilities in Nigeria. Some of the challenges shared included;

• Harmful cultural and religious practices faced by people with disabilities including psychosocial disabilities.

• Harmful clauses in laws and policies for example, the Lunacy Act and other discriminatory clauses.

• Poor mental health awareness and data

• Accessibility to affordable and appropriate mental health services

• Poor mental health financing

• Institutional/human rights abuse.

Participants also shared opportunities among which were;

• WHO enhancing mental health efforts post COVID

• Increased advocacy

On day 2, the facilitators, Michael Njenga and Philip Ode shifted the focus to human rights, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, with focus on Article 12 and Article 25) and WHO Quality Rights. 

Going forward, CBM, Gede and other organisations involved have pledged to work on priority areas (areas such as accessibility to comprehensive care and support, advocacy and policy change) of persons with psychosocial disabilities. This will ensure a holistic approach, keeping in mind other aspects of persons with psychosocial disabilities such as human rights; for example, the right to choice, the right to participate (nothing about us, without us).

To keep up with our activities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.  

Gede & Project Hope

Gede is partnering with Project Hope to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare workers in Abuja. Mental Health and Resilience Training is targeting 200 Health Workers including Doctors,Nurses,CHEWs across the six Area Councils of the FCT.

This Nigeria pilot project is to draw directly from approaches and tools validated through the CDC FMP strategy from the USA, which is to lay foundations and provide evidence-based intervention for Healthcare Workers to mitigate the psychological burden resulting from COVID-19 among the Frontline Health Workers. It is to be implemented in clusters from March to April 2022. Relevant stakeholders and government agencies have been contacted and are providing the needed support for Project rollout.

TEAMWORK for Mental Health Advocacy in Nigeria.

Culled from Asido Foundation where Gede Foundation honoured an invitation to speak at a Symposium at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) held at Hawthorne Suites in Abuja. The Symposium was organized by the Asido Foundation in partnership with the Mandate Health Empowerment Initiative (MHEI) with a focus on the Role of CSOs in Mental Health Advocacy in Nigeria.

“Asido Foundation organized a successful symposium last week at the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) conference in Abuja, Nigeria.”

L-R: Mr Fola Kareem, our able Moderator and Director of Psychological Services at the Asido Foundation; Mrs Zunzika Thole-Okpo from Gede Foundation; Mr Zion Ameh from the MHEI; Dr Jibril Abdulmalik of the Asido Foundation; Mrs Chide Omali from the SDF Initiative; Dr Nneka Unaogu from SURPIN and the President of the APN, Prof Taiwo Lateef Sheikh. MANI and CBM were absent with apologies.

The theme of the symposium was Role of CSOs in Mental Health Advocacy in Nigeria.

Working together, we will continue to advance the cause of promoting mental health awareness in Nigeria.

We are all in this for the long haul.

Asido Foundation: Together, let's make the world a better place....One person at a time.”

Click on the following links to stay up to date on our activities: Facebook and Instagram as well as Asido’s Instagram!

Clinic Day in Nassarawa State

Gede Foundation organised a mental health clinic day in Primary Healthcare Centre to address stigma and discrimination as it continues to hinder access to mental health services in health facilities around rural communities in Plateau and Nasarawa states. This is where Gede's community mental health and development program is being implemented. An approach to increase access to services, involving a confrontation of perceived stigma by rigorous awareness and sensitisation with community gatekeepers had broken the barrier to services by stimulation, with the right information, the different mental health conditions had allowed massive health seeking behaviour regarding mental health services. Over 50 persons with mental health conditions and their caregivers registered in a one-day mental health clinic day at PHC Agyragu in Obi local government area community of Nasarawa state. Gede is focusing on this initiative to attend to many community dwellers including people with disabilities, to address their mental health conditions. It is worthwhile to address stigma by confronting the root causes of the phenomenon. Keep in touch to share with Gede's innovation in promoting mental health at resource-limited settings.

Self Help Groups

People with lived experience of mental health problems during their monthly meeting to support one another.

Gede is targeting to establish 60 of such groups in 20 communities across 8 local government areas in Plateau and Nasarawa states.

The aim is to address stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness, as well as increase access to mental health services at the community level.

Visit our blog and/or our social media accounts (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) for more updates!

Gede distributed Herbicides, Pesticides, Improved seeds, fertilizer, Tank Sprayers, Sprinklers to 156 vulnerable farmers in Benue State

Improved seeds, pesticides, tank sprayers, sprinklers and fertilizers were distributed to 156 farmers in Benue. The aim was to support vulnerable farmers (who are members of Village Savings and Loans Associations) with agricultural items to expand their farming activities in 2021 farming season. In collaboration with the state Ministry of Agriculture, the event was attended by the commissioner of Agriculture and other relevant stakeholders, who had validated and provided recommendations regarding the quality of seeds and items relevant to farmers in the state. 

The improved seeds included rice, maize, groundnuts, guinea-corn, yam, benniseed and bambara nuts. The pesticides, tank sprayers and fertilizers were provided alongside the seeds to boost the quality of yield, and to ensure that seeds are not attacked by pests and herbs. 

The North Central Transitional Aid in Nigeria (NoCTRAiN) project is funded by German’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through Christoffel-Blindenmission (CBM) Germany and Nigeria. The 3-year (2019-2023) project is in its second year. It is implemented in three States— Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa.