UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI MEDICAL STUDENTS ASSOCIATION;A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

The university of Maiduguri Medical students association took time out to launch their Medical Journal which they called Deedok yesterday.It is noteworthy that they have decided to do that given the challenges of Medical education with the attendant financial and academic stress.However this is not the main reason why I am writing about them today.Quite a number of Medical schools already have journals that have been in publication for years.Say for example DOKITA IN UCH Ibadan,OAU also have a journal of many years standing.

The major reason that we are celebrating the Unimaid Medical Students Association is the lecture that was held alongside the launching!Dr Isa Bukar Rabbebe,a Consultant Psychiatrist was the guest lecturer,and he took time to educate about the burden of Mental illnesses in Nigeria.In his lecture,he gave some thought provoking statistics.For example the WHO has declared that Mental illnesses are the 5th leading cause of disability in the world!Over 50 million people suffer from major mental illlnesses.The import of this statement should be noted.We are not talking of all mental illnesses,but the major ones.Definitely the number that suffer from all/any form of mental illness like somatization disorders,mild depression,mild anxiety,maternal blues etc will be way more than that!He further declared that the ratio of Psychiatrist to the population in Nigeria is 1:1,000,000!That means that in Nigeria with a population of 150million people there are only 150 qualified Psychiatrist!

Kudos must be given to the Unimaid Medical Students Asssociation for taking steps in the right direction.Many such a lecturre would have been on the more popular topic of HIV/AIDS what with the myriad of notable organisation who will be willing to sponsor their programme.That they chose to talk about Mental health instead shows that they are reading the signs of the times and now understand the disease burden that is posed by mental illnesses both in the world over and Nigeria in particular.

Like the activists on Campus will say;THREE GBOSAS TO THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI MEDICAL STUDENTS ASSOCIATION AND THE EXCOS IN PARTICULAR!