Stakeholders tasked on Northeast trauma victims

Experts working in the area of mental health in the country have called on government and other stakeholders to ensure coordination in their interventions for girls experiencing trauma in the Northeast.

They made the call at the weekend during a stakeholders workshop organized by the Development Research and Projects Centre (DRPC) in Abuja.

Dr Mustapha Gudaji, a consultant psychiatrist with the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and a senior lecturer with Bayero University Kano said there was need for government to bring together all relevant stakeholders and have a comprehensive trauma focused care.

He said there was presently no coordination among people offering such support as every organisation works independently, adding that this was not good for the victims as they were in dire need of psychosocial support.

Dr Mustapha Adamu Kolo, a lecturer with University of Maiduguri, and founder of Sukul Development Association said there was need for a multi-sectoral approach and employment of the right people in order to effectively support adolescent girl victims of trauma in the Northeast. He also called on government to establish a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) regulating agency to control the present duplication of services.

“Coordination is very important , the government should come up with a mechanism to see how many NGOs are there and who is doing what so that we create a synergy for both local Community Based Organisations and international donor agencies,” he said.

Dr Falmata Baba Shettima, a consultant psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Pychiatrist Hospital, Maiduguri said coordinated intervention was key to building resilience and coping strategies for girls in schools, internally displaced persons camps, and in health facilities presenting with symptoms of trauma in the Northeast.