NGO donates mini-library to Yaba Psychiatric Hospital

A non-governmental organistion (NGO), The Asido Foundation, has donated a mini-library to the psychiatric ward of Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, to enhance recovery of patients on admission.

Founder of the foundation, Dr Jibril Abdullmalik, said during the donation of the library on Friday in Lagos that the motive was to provide the patients with something that would engage them.

Abdullmalik, also a consultant psychiatrist, said that majority of the people with mental illnesses were young adults who could read and write.

He said that psychiatric patients could spend weeks or months in wards receiving treatments, adding that they might be tired of watching television and might likely want to read books.

Abdullmalik said that the foundation had made the same donation to Calabar Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Enugu Psychiatric Hospital, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri and University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

The objective, he said, was to have a library in every ward in all psychiatric hospitals across the country.

“Today, Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, is receiving its part of the donation.

“We want to provide the young people with mental illnesses, who are under admission, with something to feed their minds, which will also help in improving their recovery.

“The idea is to keep the mental health patients busy, educate and entertain them, while keeping them away from being bored,” he said.

In his remarks, the Regional Coordinator of the foundation, Dr Samuel Aladejare, said that the donation was also a means of creating awareness about mental health.

Aladejare said that the exercise, which started in 2021, would be an annual programme until every ward in all the psychiatric hospitals in the country had, at least, one library each.

According to him, reading books is the easiest form of entertainment and a vital tool for recovery and improvement of mental health patients.

He lamented that the stigmatisation, discrimination and shame associated with mental illness in the society had made lots of people with the condition not to seek for psychiatric care.

“Many people with mental health challenges are dying in silence.

“The ignorance, shame, stigma and superstitious beliefs around mental illness have prevented people from accessing the care they need from health facilities.

“So the book/library donation is a way of creating awareness about mental health.

“Mental illnesses are brain disorder, but they are treatable, just like physical illnesses,” Aladejare said.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, while receiving the donation, appreciated the foundation for the gesture, describing it as “impactful”.

Owoeye said it would go a long way in educating and rebuilding the minds of psychiatric patients.

He said that this was the first time an organisation or individual would be donating such gift to the hospital, calling on other kind-hearted individuals and corporate bodies to emulate the gesture.

The medical director also assured of the hospital’s commitment to preserving and monitoring the books/library to ensure that they were fully ultilised by the patients.