The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Health to collaborate with relevant Health Institutions to ensure that research on mental health is put into practice in order to provide evidence-based care to Nigerian citizens.

Sequel to the adoption of a motion on the Need to Prioritize and implement the Provisions of the Mental Health Law 2021 to tackle suicide in Nigeria, by a

Lawmaker from Anambra state Hon. Uchenna Nwachukwu, who led the motion yesterday at plenary cited as an example of a 12th of July 2023, incident where a teenager took her life after being raped in Oyo State, one out of many cases of suicide are under reported and mostly unreported in Nigeria due to social stigmatization.

Our Correspondent Nathan Williams reports that ruling on the matter, the Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu said the House would critically look at the legal implications surrounding suicide.

The house therefore urged the Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency, to establish a counseling center to stop the ugly trend. It also mandated its Committee on Healthcare Services to evaluate the implementation of the content of the Mental Health Act and conduct a needs assessment of its full implementation.