A Non governmental organization known as the Mandate Health Empowerment Initiative has called for collaboration with the federal and state governments, especially Rivers and Bayelsa states to tackle issue of mental health.
President/ Founder of the mandate health empowerment initiative and convener of the Association of Mental Health Reforms and Care Organization in Africa ( AMHROA) Network, Zion Ameh Abba made the call in a press conference in port Harcourt.
Zion said that the study of the mental health, titled,” Protecting African Youths NEET, who are between the ages of 18- 28 years against depression”. An investigation of Differentially impactful, multi systemic resilience -enablers, pointing out that the provisional short titled,R- NEET, is a collaborative efforts with some professors from the universities of Ibadan, Harvard and Leicester.
According to Zion, the aim of the research is to understand the unique challenges faced by NEET youth in the region, adding that the research also sought to identify resilience -enablers that could mitigate the risk of depression among the demographic.
Mr Zion said that the mandate health empowerment initiative,(MHEI) is a leading mental health reforms and care Organizations with a decade of advocacy and community mental health operations in almost 13 states of the federation of Nigeria and the youths and environmental advocacy centre ( YEAC- Nigeria) as community partners on the project working collaboratively and independently to achieve defined milestones within 66 months study.
He noted that the study has generated new co-produced knowledge about emerging adults resilience to depression in the Niger Delta.
Abaa maintained that as a community partner on its first research study for African youths, it would support the research team to achieve project aims, recruit the youths psychosocial support, open up a toll free line for support, lead on communication with key stakeholders as well as to help maximize the reach and impacts of the research through a diverse range of dissemination activities within the Niger Delta.
He.asserts that African youths are at the fore front of technical adoption and innovation, especially in the Fields of mobile technology, fintec,e- commerce and digital media.
He posited that their findings would underscore the need for targeted interventions to address mental health disparities among the demographic.