The Borno Psychiatric Hospital rehabilitated by World Health Organisation (WHO) after its destruction by insurgents in 2013 has been formally handed over to Borno Government.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony in Maiduguri on Thursday, the WHO Public Health Officer, Emergency Programme North East, Dr Henry Nwanja said the organisation has frrom January to November this year supported the treatment of 301 mental health patients in Borno.
Henry said 12 other patients were referred for further management within the period under review.
He said that since the attack on the psychiatric hospital in 2013, it had remained non functional and totally dilapidated until 2019 when Borno government approached WHO to facilitate the reconstruction, equipping, and restoration of health care services to the hospital.
“WHO is therefore to European Union who made the funds available for the restoration of health care services in this health facility,” Nwanja said.
Nwanja who noted that the rate of common mental disorders has doubled by 20 percent in Borno because of the violent conflicts, said there was need to scale up mental health interventions to meet up the urgent need as the capacity of Federal Neuropsychiatric Maiduguri currently serving the entire North East is over stretched.
He said that in response to that, WHO has been supporting the clinical management and referral of mental health cases from communities and primary health care facilities through the Mental Health Gap Action Programme.
In his remarks, the Chief Medical Director of Borno Hospital Management Board, Prof. Mohammed Arab, lauded WHO for the intervention and assured proper management of the facility.
Arab said the 48 bed capacity hospital has two wards with pharmacy, therapy and social welfare sections among others.
Also speaking, Gov. Babagana Zulum represented by his Special Adviser on Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Reconstruction, Abdulkarim Abdulrahman, lauded WHO for its sustain support to healthcare delivery in the state and urged for support to establish similar facility in each Senatorial District in the state.
