Nigeria’s deepening mental health crisis has become a silent national emergency, yet it receives little policy attention.
Development Diaries reports that as Nigeria joins the world in marking Mental Health Day, experts have warned that 85 percent of those in need of mental health care lack access to care.
This shows that Nigeria is battling a mounting mental health emergency.
According to a report by The Guardian, with 85 percent of those in need unable to access care, the country’s mental health system is stretched far beyond its limits.
The situation is worsened by harsh economic realities, unemployment, inflation, and the rising cost of living, all of which push millions to psychological breaking points.
Data from the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) show that only about 200 practising psychiatrists serve a population exceeding 220 million.
When one considers that Nigeria has fewer than 300 psychiatrists for over 220 million people, the gap between need and access is not just wide; it is catastrophic.
The World Bank’s recent Nigeria Development Update (NDU) report further paints a grim picture: 139 million Nigerians now live in poverty, a figure that continues to climb.
Poverty and poor mental health are intertwined; hunger, joblessness, and financial strain fuel depression and anxiety, while untreated mental illness traps people deeper in economic cycles they cannot escape.
Yet, despite this obvious link, mental health funding remains abysmal, with only a fraction of the national health budget going to psychiatric care.
A 2021 data from National Library of Medicine shows that Nigeria’s mental health budget mainly financed through the central government health budget is about 3.3–4 percent, with over 90 percent going to the few neuropsychiatric hospitals available in Nigeria .
Facilities across the country report patient intake increases of up to 200 percent, but with minimal expansion in staff, resources, or infrastructure.
The data tells a clear story: mental illness is costing Nigeria far more than it is investing.
Depression and anxiety reduce productivity, increase absenteeism, and weaken the national workforce. Globally, mental health issues cost $1 trillion in lost productivity annually, a loss Nigeria can ill afford as its economy struggles to recover.
But beyond the economics lies a deeper human cost: families torn apart, rising suicide rates, and a generation growing up in a society that still treats mental illness as taboo instead of a public health priority.
The Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and state health ministries must act now.
It is time to treat mental health as a national development issue, not an afterthought. This means integrating mental health services into primary care, expanding community-based support, recruiting and training more mental health professionals, and implementing the Mental Health Act with full funding.
The Ministries of Labour and Education must also step in, workplaces and schools should become safe spaces for mental wellness.
Photo source: Damilareadeyemi
