Distinguished guests, esteemed participants, and community advocates, it is my pleasure to welcome you to this crucial Community Accountability Town Hall Meeting on Mainstreaming of Mental Health in Maternal and Child Healthcare Service Delivery in Kano State, Nigeria, organized by the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED).

Today, we gather with a shared commitment to address a pressing concern that affects us all: the scourge of maternal and child mortality in Kano State. As critical stakeholders, we have unique roles to play in promoting awareness, advocating for policy change, and holding stakeholders accountable for ensuring the health and well-being of our citizens, particularly women and children.

At CHRICED, we believe that no woman should lose her life while giving birth to another. This belief has driven our commitment to work with stakeholders to tackle maternal and child mortality in Kano State. After years of interventions, we have discovered that mental health, a crucial aspect of pregnant women’s and nursing mothers’ health, has been largely neglected in the maternal healthcare service delivery protocol.

It is worrisome that a lot of women go through various mental health challenges, often associated with pregnancy and childbirth, without adequate medical care and the right psycho-social support needed to overcome these challenges. In our various communities, we have tales of women who suffered pregnancy-related mental health conditions such as prenatal anxiety and depression, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum, being branded as mentally derailed, witches, and persons possessed with evil spirits. Instead of community members rallying around these women and providing the needed psycho-support they need to overcome these challenges, such women are often stigmatized, abused, and isolated, thereby compounding their mental health challenges.

These ill-treatments often breed a culture of fear and silence in the affected victims and their families, who would rather suffer in silence than seek help. More worrisome is the fact that most of our hospitals and Primary Healthcare facilities lack the capacity to provide professional mental health services and support for the teeming population of pregnant women and nursing mothers in Kano State.

We therefore call on the State government, community actors, and other critical stakeholders in the maternal and child healthcare ecosystem in Kano State, to prioritize the mental health of pregnant women and nursing mothers, as a way of contributing to their general well-being and reducing the scourge of maternal and child mortality. This is important because it takes a mentally stable and healthy woman to birth and raise a healthy child. We strongly recommend that mental health screenings, counselling, and psychosocial support services be made an integral part of antenatal and postnatal healthcare service delivery protocols in the state.

Over the next few hours, we will engage in lively discussions, share best practices, and learn from each other’s experiences. We will deliberate on ways to integrate mental health services into the general maternal and child healthcare service protocol in Kano State. I urge you all to actively participate, share your insights, and take away valuable knowledge, skills, and lessons that will enable you to contribute to this critical effort. Together, we can curb the scourge of maternal and child mortality in Kano State and build a healthier, more prosperous future for all.

In conclusion, I wish to express our profound appreciation to MISEREOR KZE of Germany for their steadfast support and enduring commitment to advancing the health and well-being of women and children in Nigeria, particularly in Kano State. I also wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Board of Directors and Staff of CHRICED, whose tireless efforts have propelled the organization to become a leading advocate for democratic and accountable governance in Nigeria. And to all our partners and volunteers, thank you for believing in and supporting our noble cause.

Thank you all for coming, and I wish you a productive meeting.

Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, PhD (h.c.) FICM, FIMS, FIIM

Executive Director