Gede Conducts HIV/AIDS & Reproductive Health Workshop for Secondary School Students  At Dutsen Government Day School, 17th May, 2016.  

Young people are particularly at risk of HIV infection, especially, those who may be sexually active.

Gede’s OVC Programme includes prevention activities that help young people to acquire basic knowledge about their sexuality, as it relates to infectious diseases and which is culturally appropriate. The workshop, aimed at sustaining an intervention (awareness raising) focused on developing ways in which HIV and other sexually-related infections could be prevented among young people. At the workshop, knowledge attitude and practice were assessed among 40 participants from different classes through interactive sessions. In particular, myths and preconceptions regarding sexuality were clarified at various sessions.

During the question and answer session

The Students demonstrated adequate levels of knowledge about HIV transmission, prevention and treatment (although usually rather elementary in nature) and were guided through the various sessions by trained and qualified facilitators. At the end, participants agreed to be more committed in strengthening the already existing anti-AIDS club in the school to be more effective in order to create the necessary impact among all the Students in the school and within local communities.

Students were left with one question: How can I be a change agent? Hopefully, this question will help the students to think, not only about themselves, but about their immediate communities and further. Furthermore, one can only hope that this question will leave them thirsty for more information and spread it as much as they can because "in vain have you acquired knowledge if you have not imparted it to others’ Deuteronomy Rabbah.

20160517_150451.JPG

GEDE attends McGill Summer Program

The McGill Summer Program on Social and Cultural Psychiatry is organized by the Institute of Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to provide the conceptual background for research and clinical work in social and cultural psychiatry to postdoctoral trainees, researches, and clinicians in psychiatry and other mental health disciplines, physicians, psychologists, social workers, and graduate students. On its 22nd year this year, the Summer Program forms part of the training activities of the Montreal WHO Collaborating Centre and is endorsed by the Canadian Academy of Psychiatric Epidemiology.

                                     

Dr. Cynthia Ticao, Performance Director for Research and Advocacy, is attending two courses and one workshop at the Summer Program: Research Methods in Social and Cultural Psychiatry, the McGill Illness Narrative (MINI), Cultural Psychiatry, and Global Mental Health Research. When she returns to Nigeria in June, Dr. Ticao will share the skills she learned with local researchers and Gede staff.

 

Baseline Situation Assessment Study for Community Mental Health

In order to involve the community and end users fully into the implementation of Gede’s Community Mental Health Project, a number of participatory data collection activities will be conducted for baseline information gathering.

Gede concluded one of these activities through focus group discussions (FDGs) in the two project locations recently.

Participants, including users and carers within Mpape (6) and Mararaba (26), helped in gathering data around questions of health status, treatment, current capacity to work and sources of livelihood. 

From responses received during the FDGs, people are more willing to (or perhaps able to) come out to support cases of epilepsy and drug abuse. As for cases less likely to be manageable in such meeting settings, they were represented by their carers who seem to be genuinely seeking help for them.  Women also seem to be more willing to admit they really have mental health challenges and need help. While substance abuse, especially in Mararaba, seem to be a problem more associated with the young males. Most of the users (and their carers) have sought treatment from the hospitals but usually complement this treatment with traditional and faith based service providers.

Most respondents are unaware of the treatment pathways in Abuja and Nasarawa State and therefore resort in seeking treatment at health facilities far from their homes.

 

The barriers so far created by stigma and discrimination in seeking healthcare from those with mental illness will be reduced through the engagement of users and carers in discussions at different levels of the project.

 

Participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to share their experiences and burdens. They also promised to play their part in making sure that the project succeeds in improving their situation and creating a better community.

 

Mental illness and young women

Gede Foundation participated and led a technical session on ‘mental illness and young women’ in an event organized by She Leads Africa-a community that helps young African women achieve their professional dreams through workshops and seminars planned across African Countries and in the US.

Fifty eight women in their various careers from Nigeria and other Countries participated and learnt a) the part played by gender in mental illness, b) factors affecting mental illness in women, c) post partum mental illnesses, and, d) post natal depression of mild to moderate severity and the symptoms associated with all the conditions.

Dr Hadiza Audu, a Consultant Psychiatrist from Behavorial Medicine Unit in Karu Hospital (a strong supporter of Gede’s mental health initiative) led this technical session with clinical experiences and some documented publications that were shared.

The event, which took place on May 1 2016, at Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja exposed participants to other health challenges faced by young women and ways in which they could be controlled. The next event is scheduled to hold in June in the US.
Young women are predisposed to conditions that can trigger mental illness and this platform will enable them to know the steps to take as they make informed decisions about their lives.
You can learn more about the She Leads African through https://www.facebook.com/sheleadsafrica

Gede conducts Field Consultations on its Community Mental Health Development Programme

Community based mental health is one of the approaches in which low and middle income countries can adopt to eliminate many barriers in the treatment and care forpeople with mental illness and epilepsy.

As regular readers will know, Gede is currently a BasicNeeds Franchisee and is implementing a project aimed at supporting communities and families to access quality services for mental health conditions through community mental health with hospital support.

One component in the Model is Field Consultation, which will allow all stakeholders to make contributions within the initial phase of the Project.

Two days of activities took place within this week in Mpape and Mararaba communities. Users, Carers and other Stakeholders in these communities met in different groups to discuss ‘my world’, ‘my needs’ and ‘what next?’ –all of which are controlled sessions to address vital points within the groups.

People suffering from mental illnesses and epilepsy (with their Carers) participated actively in the different sessions.

With the enthusiasm that is perceived within the various groups, there is a consensus within participants that the formation of self-help groups will be pivotal in addressing stigma and discrimination that are associated with mental illness and epilepsy.

Watch this space for more update on the Project.

 

GEDE AND mhNOW

Gede has lent its voice to mhNOW (http://www.mhnow.net/) whose formation was recently announced at the World Bank/WHO mental health meetings in Washington DC. mhNOW is the brainchild of Chris Underhill (Founder of BasicNeeds) and Moltreyee Sinha (based at the Global Development Incubator) and seeks to make a genuine difference to people living with mental illness through –

VISION
All people have access to mental health support, are accepted in their communities, and are able to live fulfilling lives
________________________________________
MISSION
mhNow mobilizes community leaders across sectors to scale up holistic and effective approaches for mental health
Our goal is to create and employ tools on a global level that can be adopted and replicated by local city leaders so that they are able to bring best practices in mental health to their own communities.
________________________________________
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Evidence-based solutions to dramatically improve mental health already exist but require proactive promotion
• Community leadership can be mobilized to create the link between vulnerable population and mental health support networks
• Action happens at local level
• Cross-sectoral approaches that integrate economic, socio-cultural and human elements to address root causes and build healthy communities
• Entrepreneurs are the engines for impact and can lead to large-scale sustainable change when connected and supported by the public and private sectors


Gede is delighted to be part of this forward thinking and innovative organisation and is especially excited about the prospect of engaging leaders across the spectrum in order to leverage their capacities for the benefit of those living with mental illness in Nigeria

 

Gede trains Community Based Volunteers on the BasicNeeds Model


Gede became a BasicNeeds Franchisee in March 2016 (the first in Nigeria), and will implement a community based mental health development programme that seeks to address stigma and increases access to quality treatment and services for people suffering from mental illness, including epilepsy. 

Within the first quarter of this year, a number of preliminary activities have been carried out to ensure effective participation from all stakeholders including the Government of Nigeria.

Recently, 10 Community Based Volunteers within the two selected project locations were trained in Mararaba Health Facility on BasicNeeds’ community based mental health development model. 

The two day training allowed participants to understand the 5 modules of the model and how that contributes to the purpose of improving the lives of people with mental illness and epilepsy. Community Volunteers are central in the project and are expected to deliver the necessary support in all community-related activities within the project cycle.