MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS CONFERENCE HOLDS IN UYO, NIGERIA

As part of the activities marking this year's mental health awareness campaign, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, 9th November, 2024 held a Mental Health Awareness Conference in Uyo, Nigeria. The event was attended by about 2,000 members of the community both in-person and online.

Experts on mental health from Ghana and Nigeria who presented papers on the theme: Preventing and Responding to Abuse and provided further insights to attendees who were drawn from government, academic institutions, traditional institutions, community leaders and the public in a panel of discussants.

From the various speakers, attendees learned about the various forms of abuse - physical, sexual, verbal, financial, emotional, how to prevent and how to respond when they find themselves in abusive situations. In her presentation, ACP(Dr.) Phyllis Ama t. Osei, a commissioned officer of the Ghana Police Service and a Counselling Psychologist, who made her presentation via Zoom, stated that everyone had the responsibility to be aware of abuse. She urged anyone has suffered any form of abuse to report to the Police. Prof. Gboyega E. Abikoye, Professor of ...stated that: ''Abuse is an epidemic that is not just pervasive, but also extremely costly in human and financial. It affects victims, s well as families, children, friends and communities''. In his concluding remarks, he thanked the Church for the conference stating that ''the Church is an anchor to all who are going through any form of mental health challenge''. From the Family Services unit of the Church, Linda Opuene, a Family Services Specialist in Nigeria, outlined various church resources available to leaders to help them minister effectively to victims and families who suffer abuse. She pointed out that members of the community can also access these resources.

Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran, First counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency of the Church who presided at the conference in his remarks, especially thanked the speakers and panelists for their contribution to the success of the conference and for their insight and counsel in dealing with abuse. On abuse, he quoted President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; 'Abuse constitutes the influence of the adversary. It is a grievous sin...any kind of abuse of women or children is an abomination to the Lord.' He went on to state that ''it is essential that we help victims of whatever form of abuse understand that they are innocent. They bear no guilt for what happened to them. We must help them regain their self-worth''.

The Welfare and Self-Reliance Department’s Family Services unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been actively engaged in raising awareness about mental health and providing mental health resources to both members and communities in the Africa West Area since the year 2020.