Nigeria Taylor Lacey

General Statistics Accounts for 1/6th of African population Total population: 169 million Median age of population: 17.8 years Life expectancy at birth: 52.3 years Estimated population growth rate: 2.5% Religion: Nearly equally divided between Christianity and Islam Poverty stricken communities with low living standards

Society characteristics President, Goodluck Jonathon, is head of state and government Main income revenue from mining petroleum Over 250 ethnic groups- religious and ethnic tensions often lead to violence and crime among different groups Human rights problems include extrajudicial killings, abuse by security forces, degrading treatment of prisoners, human trafficking, domestic violence, and child sexual exploitation

Health status -Health care is influenced by local and regional factors, leaving limited availability in rural areas where 70% of the population resides  -Percentage of federal government expenditure on health care is only about 1.5% -Increasing ratio of doctors to patients threatens the physical and mental wellbeing of the country

Common health problems HIV/AIDS Diarrhea Malaria STI’s Cholera Nutritional deficiencies Measles Rubella Tuberculosis Yellow Fever Leprosy Birth Related Death Pneumonia

Mental health disparities Mental health services are only offered at eight psychiatric departments of 12 major university affiliated medical centers. Very few general hospitals provide mental health services Formal settings are not as popular as herbalists and faith based centers- more individuals turn to them for mental and physical health problems For every 100,000 people, there is less than one psychologist and/or social worker available.

Understanding mental health issues -Very low standard of living -Poverty -High infant mortality rates -Lack of understanding of mental health issues and their causes -Social stigma prevents community from utilizing traditional healers

World Health Organization, 2006

Health interventions needed Mental health facilities are inaccessible to the general population All major mental health facilities are owned by the government No beds set aside for children or adolescents for inpatient settings General hospitals do not provide counseling, support groups, etc. Disparity in mental health worker to patient ratio No system for reporting mental health issues

Bibliography The World Bank. (2013). Retrieved November 2013, from Nigeria: Country At A Glance: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria Wauchope, S. (2012, March). Human Development Reports. Retrieved November 2013, from International Human Development Indicators : http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NGA.html   World Health Organization (2006). Retrieved November 2013, from Mental Health System in Nigeria: http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/nigeria_who_aims_report.pdf World Health Organization (2012, January). African Region: Nigeria Statistics Summary (2002-present). Retrieved November 2013, from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.country.15000