NDLEA Committed to Integrated Approach in Dealing with Substance Use, Mental Health Challenges, Says Marwa
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said that it is committed to an integrated approach to dealing with challenges of substance use and mental health in the country.
The move to support private sector organisations in tackling health challenges resulting from substance use came just as the agency said Nigeria has witnessed a sudden rise in substance use cutting across all segments of the population including women.
The Director General of the agency, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (rtd), who disclosed this at the launch of Olive Prime Adventurine, Abuja, said there is need to assist women battling drug-related health challenges.
He lamented that many women involved in drugs are facing stigma, gender-based violence, discrimination and trauma threatened by social exclusion, fears of family separations and needed gender responsive services.
The Deputy Director at the Drug Demand Reduction Department of the NDLEA, Muhammed Bashir Ibrahim, who represented the DG, said the opening of the first-only woman mental health and substance use rehabilitation centre in Nigeria was a significant milestone.
According to Marwa, the centre is unique in the sense that it is established to address the dual challenge of mental health and substance use disorder particularly among the female folk.
“In recent years, Nigeria has witnessed a sudden rise in substance use cutting across all segments of our population including women. As chairman of NDLEA, I have witnessed first hand the silence and often the invisible struggles of women battling drug addiction many of them are victims of stigma gender-based violence and discrimination, trauma, social exclusion, fears of family separation and lack of gender responsive services,” he said.
Marwa also said that setting up the rehabilitation centre has sent a strong message that the challenges and needs of women suffering from substance use disorder and mental health will no longer be overlooked.
He commended the vision and commitment of the management of Olive Prime Adventurine for providing a gender sensitive and professionally guided facility where women can be recovered and reclaim their lives with dignity.
He assured the audience that NDLEA is fully committed to integrated approach to drug control, encompassing prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and integration.
While speaking on the mission and objective of the centre, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Olive Prime Adventurine, Dr. Vincent Udenze, said the establishment of the facility was borne out of the desire to provide a specialist care for women facing mental health challenges resulting from depression and substance use.
“We thought that it would be appropriate to test run having a centre that is meant for just Women.
“This centre will not only provide clinical services but will also serve as a symbol of hope and possibility, showing that recovery is real and that transformation is possible,” he said.
Udenze described the initiative as a bold effort to fill a long standing gap in Nigeria’s healthcare and social support systems.
According to Udenze, the name of the centre, Olive Prime Adventurine, connotes resilience, new beginnings and emotional clarity.
Regarding the services being offered by the centre, he explained that the centre is modelled as an in-patient facility, that is, people will be admitted for treatment for any form of mental illness, substance addiction and other associated health issues.
“This centre will be what we refer to as a ‘Mother and Baby Unit’. Some women at the time of delivery may experience depression or even psychosis and when they become unwell in that condition, they will need admission. In this facility, we have a place to accommodate the mother, baby and a nanny,” he said.
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