NIGERIA – Nigeria, through the Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SURPIN), has unveiled a health toll-free hotline that empowers people with mental health challenges to contact counsellors, psychologist or psychotherapists for advice and help.
SURPIN was launched as an initiative of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for suicide prevention through research, crisis intervention, health education and early treatment of depression and drug abuse in March 2017.
The Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative has inaugurated a toll-free helpline for answers to questions about mental health or mental illness, under the contact 0800 078 7746, in an effort to prevent suicide tendencies and create an avenue where people could speak out and seek help.
SURPIN’s free counselling hotline seeks to address the complaints voiced by people over the years concerning the charges incurred for placing a phone call to SURPIN thus the toll-free hotline will provide relief to people with a financial burden.
The free health line will also help to increase access to mental health services as SURPIN has offices in all states of the federation, the mental health initiative has currently spread to over 40 health institutions across 28 states as of July 2019.
The free mental health hotline comes at a time when suicide and other outcomes of mental ill-health are on the increase in Nigeria where stress and depression are identified major factors that could lead to suicide if not properly managed.
SURPIN Training Coordinator of Ms. Titilayo Tade stated that the newly launched hotline was not to replace the previous fee-paying lines and the old English and Hausa speaking lines – 09034400009 and 08142241007 are still valid for health inquiries.
Ms. Titilayo Tade explained that people can easily call in respect of the mental health challenges they are facing at any point through the free line and SURPIN will give them the necessary counselling or even direct them to an appropriate mental health facility for medical attention.
“In the past, we’ve had calls concerning people on the verge of committing suicide or even people that drink substances to terminate their lives. But through the calls, SURPIN came in and rescued them. A problem shared is half-solved,’’ the SURPIN training coordinator disclosed.
She expressed that there was need for people to speak out and not feel intimidated to bottle up their anxieties, challenges and frustrations, adding that considering suicide should never be an option for life challenges of any sort.
“We are dealing with a lot of issues in the country, businesses are falling, things are expensive, cash is hard to come by and the basic amenities are lacking, affecting the mental health of many. Problems can make people vulnerable to suicide, aggression, violence, and other anti-social behaviors,” she observed.
Tade further said that the first line for managing life challenges or depression was counselling and therapy and it could be from family members, friends, religious leaders and medical experts, advising all people to seek help on mental health issues.
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