Meeting with RISE Global Health Initiative

Today, February 19 2015, members of Gede’s Senior Management Team met Dr Chinyelu Menakaya, Development Director of the RISE Global Health Initiative (based in San Diego, USA) which is pioneering the delivery of a package of comprehensive health care in Anambra State, Nigeria, with other States to follow.

A significant element of RISE’s approach to comprehensive health care is the engagement of ‘Tele-HIV’ and members of the Nigerian diaspora (who provide training and mentoring expertise where appropriate) aimed at providing online support (as well as through innovative teaching apps) to those health professionals tasked with care and support. The courtesy visit also focused on discussing ways in which the mental health ‘treatment gap’ in Nigeria might also be filled through the use of ICT and expertise within the diaspora.

Watch this space for additional news in future.

Gede Foundation and the World Bank HAF-2 Programme

As an implementing partner to the World Bank's HAF-2 Programme (aimed at raising awareness about HIV-AIDS), Gede recently held a number of Peer Educators' Meetings which engaged a range of IEC materials in relation to HIV and STI prevention, condom packaging messages and additional information regarding the importance of referrals and testing services.

Although the Programme aims to reach 3000 adults in Ibadan North East and North West Local Government Areas in 2015, each session is relatively small in number (10 per group) in order to ensure that messages are received and assessed in an appropriate manner, with in depth feedback and clarification where needed. For further information about HAF-2 please contact poshadami@gedefoundation.org

IHVN and Gede Agreement

Gede Foundation Managing Director, John Minto, and IHVN CEO, Dr. Patrick Dakum, signing a letter of agreement between the two organizations.

Today, the Gede Foundation signed a Letter of Agreement with the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN -  http://ihvnigeria.org/ihvnweb/webnew/) which will govern the work the two agencies undertake in relation to the large prevalence survey of depression, alcohol abuse disorder and suicidality among people living positively with HIV-AIDS in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. The survey (to be undertaken in 2015) represents the first stage in a project which will eventually see the integration of common mental disorders into HIV-AIDS care and support.

The initiative has also engaged major partners and collaborators such as the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the Network of People Living With HIV-AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN). Watch this space (www.gedefoundation.org) for updates on the prevalence survey of 1200 people living positively which will start later this month.

Mental Health Issues in Crisis Situations

Gede’s Mental Health Dialogue Programme of the 11th February, 2015 was led by Ms Sade Samuel from New Beginnings Birth Centre. She gave a fascinating presentation on the importance of mental health in crisis situations within a clinical setting. She conducted a guided facilitation session where participants were made to put themselves in real life crisis scenario.
 
Through this exercise, she was able to bring out in the individuals present the various mental health issues which are often experienced in a crisis situation in clinical settings such as  fear, anger, anxiety, shock, collapse, sadness, confusion, panic among others.
There was a general consensus thereafter that people who had suffered or experienced one crisis or the other needed psychosocial support by trained professionals in order to be mentally stable.
 
Those present noted the importance of ensuring that such services should, in an ideal world, always be available, especially in clinical settings. However, note was made of the 'treatment gap' in many low and middle income countries where the number of people needing mental health treatment is not matched by the number of those available to provide it. Gede's work in training HIV-AIDS Adherence Counsellors re mental health was seen as an important step in the right direction.

Mental Health Working Group Meeting

Today, the Gede Foundation Co-Chaired the latest meeting of NACA’s (National Agency for the Control of AIDS) Technical Working Group Sub-Committee on Mental Health, tasked with developing ways in which mental health (focusing mainly on depression, substance abuse and other neurological challenges often faced by people living positively with HIV-AIDS) can be practically integrated into HIV-AIDS care and support. The Sub-Committee has six months to investigate a range of initiatives and will then report back to NACA’s Technical Working Group on the option(s) which can be implemented most effectively into the daily, routine activities of those tasked with HIV-AIDS care and support. Gede’s role on the sub-Committee places the Foundation of cutting edge policy development within the context of HIV-AIDS care and support in Nigeria. Sub-Committee meetings will continue to be covered on the website blog page

Mental Health and Behavior Change

On the 28th January 2015, the latest presentation in Gede’s Mental Health Dialogue Programme was focused on ‘relating behavioral change with mental health’. Over 20 attendees listened to the presentation given by Professor Andrew Zamani, Dean of the Social Science Faculty at Nasarawa State University and currently President of the Association of Psychologists in Nigeria.

Professor Zamani highlighted the roles of behavior change in achieving mental health through the following lenses: conceptual issues, diagnostic criteria, consequences of mental impairment and behavior change imperatives.

It was noted during the session that, in promoting mental health, intervention indices should go beyond the cultural and scientific definitions of abnormal behaviors which are mostly symptom-based, but include enhancement of protective factors and promotion of healthy lifestyle in addition to effective treatment pathways. His presentation was followed by a lively Q and A session. Gede’s next Mental Health Dialogue Programme presentation will be held at the Foundation on the 11th February 2015 and will be delivered by Sylvia Christybelle on the Ray of Hope Foundation’s initiatives on Mental Health.

Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop

Gede Foundation is a recipient of the World Bank/NACA grant for HIV/AIDS Fund (HAF-II) in Oyo State. The Foundation’s core target in the grant is to implement HIV prevention activities in 2 local government areas-Ibadan North East and Ibadan South West over the course of a two year period, 2014-2015.

The grant will reach 3000 adults with a minimum HIV prevention package intervention (MPPI) and, working with the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) as a sub-recipient, the two organizations will ensure that grant guidelines are adhered to.

On January 22 2015, a Performance Workshop in Ibadan underlined the importance of M& E and supported the strengthening of agencies involved in the project. For more information on HAF-2 grants, you can reach Peter Oshadami through poshadami@gedefoundation.org.

Synapse/Reconnect

Today, senior managers from the Gede Foundation met with members of Synapse/Reconnect, a leading private mental health institution based in Abuja whose work also extends to community outreach to raise awareness about the dangers of substance abuse, most particularly drug addiction. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange insights into the projects being run by the respective organisations and resulted in a commitment to explore avenues through which the core competences of both Gede and Synapse/Reconnect could be harnessed into potential projects for the benefit of those suffering from a range of mental health disorders, especially in community based settings.

Calabar

Working with senior Officers from 146 Battalion, Gede made a presentation to over 70 personnel on the importance of good mental health. As is widely recognized, members of the armed forces experience unique challenges in terms of developing and maintaining good mental health and the presentation by the Foundation to members of the Battalion reflects both this growing recognition and the motivation of senior Battalion Officers to ensure that all aspects of the working and living conditions of their personnel are considered. 

Gede would like to thank, through this blog, all members of 146 Battalion who were instrumental in making the presentation such a success. The Foundation will continue to work with senior Battalion Officers to develop an appropriate and long term programme of mental well being skills over time. Watch this space for further developments.

2015 OVC Enrollment

Orphans and Vulnerable Children were screened and enrolled into 2015 Gede’s OVC project in Jikoko, Durumi and Katampe communities. The exercise will continue in 12 selected communities in the FCT and will allow 125 beneficiaries to be registered into several vocational training centres and schools for this year’s support.  

Using the National child-vulnerability index as a guide for enrollment, the exercise raised one very important issue on the plight of the increasing number of children in rural communities who are orphaned by AIDS and other causes. They remain vulnerable to a range of social vices as there are limited safety nets to engage them and address their basic needs.  Gede’s partnership with Addax & Oryx Foundation since 2010, has offered a platform for stigma reduction activities through regular stakeholders’ participation  and  has empowered hundreds of orphans (who were initially out of schools) to be reenrolled and acquire basic education and life skills in order to give them the foundations on which to build promising futures.  An added intervention is being planned, which will promote the mental health of this target population.