In Nigeria, when it comes to healthcare, mothers and children are of the highest priority. One may assume that Nigerian elders do not the get the attention that they deserve. If so, they are correct. Professor Oye Gureje, the president of the African Association of Psychiatry and Allied Professions (AAPAP), recently stated that the elderly population in Nigeria is amongst the highly depressed in the world. Depression, includes everything from mental illness, sleep, anxiety, sex, and stress disorders, disabilities, and suicide. As a whole, Nigeria ranked 85 out of 91 on a survey studying the wellbeing of older persons in countries. This puts the elders in Nigeria on the same level as those in Middle Eastern and war torn countries. Shameful right?
So the question you may be asking is why? Why are Nigeria’s elders so depressed? But a better question may be why not? Many of the reasons that they may have such high levels of depression may be due to the some of the things that I mentioned earlier. They lack quality social networks and support, they are not given the medical attention that they need, they are extremely dependent on others, unemployed, suffering from disabilities, poverty ridden and most importantly they are socially isolated.
Something needs to be done. There is no reason for so many elders to feel depressed and to be suffering from mental illness. More work needs to be done by the government to ensure that they are in good hands and are getting the attention that they need. I am not saying that attention that is currently given to mothers and children should be diverted. Rather, Nigeria needs to make sure health programs are in place for the elderly that is both accessible and affordable.
References:
Ajayi, Ola. “Nigerian Elderly Have Highest Depression Rate.” Vanguard. N.p., 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
“Elderly Persons in Nigeria Are Highly Depressed – Prof. Oye Gureje.” Elderly Persons in Nigeria Are Highly Depressed – Prof. Oye Gureje –. HealthNewsNG.com, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
Oguntula, Sade. “Nigerian Tribune.” Nigeria Elderly People Ranked High on Depression. Nigerian Tribune, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
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