Oyo to audit mental health services in 33 LGAs, expand primary care

The Oyo State Government plans to assess mental health services across its 33 local government areas and train frontline healthcare workers to identify mental health conditions, provide initial care, and refer patients for specialist treatment.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, disclosed this at the 2026 World Mental Health Day celebration organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Health in collaboration with New World Specialist Hospital, ASIDO Foundation, and other partners at Ring Road State Hospital, Ibadan.

Ajetunmobi said the assessment would involve the hospitals’ management board, the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, and other stakeholders to identify underserved communities and guide targeted interventions.

She said progress would be measured using indicators such as the availability of services, patient utilisation, the number of healthcare workers trained, facilities supported, and referrals completed.

The commissioner cited the commencement of psychiatric clinic services at General Hospital, Saki, as part of efforts to decentralise mental healthcare and bring specialist services closer to residents.

She added that the ministry would improve mental health data collection, engage development partners to address shortages of personnel and essential medicines, and involve people with lived experience of mental health conditions in planning services.

“The voices of people with lived experience must influence decisions beyond today’s commemoration. Listening must lead to action, and action must produce measurable change,” she said.

Ajetunmobi identified stigma, discrimination, and inadequate awareness as major barriers to accessing care, pledging to promote mental health education through schools, health facilities, religious institutions, communities and the media.

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Speaking at the event, a former Medical Director of Ring Road State Hospital, Ibadan, Professor Victor Lasebikan, called for increased investment in specialist mental health personnel, psychiatric nursing, social work and rehabilitation services.

He recalled that the hospital’s psychiatric unit was established in 1982 alongside the Moniya Rehabilitation Centre to provide long-term care and occupational rehabilitation.

Lasebikan said the centre’s subsequent takeover in 1985 highlighted the consequences of excluding key stakeholders from decisions on mental healthcare.

He urged the government to address staffing shortages and revive rehabilitation services, noting that the Ring Road psychiatric unit had lost some of its previous support structures.

He added that the New World Health Group remained committed to supporting the state in improving mental health services.

Also speaking, the representative of the ASIDO Foundation, Mr Oyetunji Ayoola, advocated the involvement of people living with mental health conditions in designing and evaluating interventions.

Ayoola welcomed developments towards the decriminalisation of suicide and called for a co-design approach that would enable affected persons to influence decisions about their care.

He identified stigma, discrimination, and limited access to affordable healthcare as persistent challenges, urging stronger collaboration among government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and community stakeholders.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr Akintunde Ayinde, said mental health challenges affected families, schools, and communities, but the experiences of those affected were often overlooked in policy discussions.

Ayinde called for better access to affordable treatment and rehabilitation, stressing that government, healthcare professionals, civil society organisations, families and communities must work together to tackle stigma and ensure that people living with mental health conditions are treated with dignity.