Calls for early intervention and expanded access to mental healthcare dominated the fourth Vanguard Mental Health Summit, as stakeholders urged the government, schools and communities to strengthen support for young Nigerians amid widespread treatment gaps, inadequate services and growing concerns over cyberbullying.

More than three years after Nigeria enacted the Mental Health Act to improve access to care and protect the rights of people with mental health conditions, implementation remains inadequate, with 33 states yet to domesticate the law and over 90 per cent of young Nigerians requiring mental healthcare reportedly going untreated.

Held at the Civic Centre in Lagos, the summit, themed “Advancing Youth Mental Health in Nigeria through Access, Action and Advocacy,” also highlighted the need for school counselling services, safer digital spaces and healthier online habits to protect young people’s psychological wellbeing.

Delivering a keynote address, the President of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN), Dr Veronica Nyamali, said only Lagos, Ekiti and Kaduna had domesticated the Mental Health Act. According to her, studies among secondary school students in Enugu found that roughly three in 10 had depressive symptoms, and more than a third experienced anxiety disorders. At the same time, nearly one in 12 reported suicidal ideation.

Nyamali urged the remaining states to domesticate the Act and called on the Federal Government to establish the dedicated mental health department provided for under the law as well as fund its implementation.

In his welcome address, the Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Eze Anaba, urged stakeholders to move beyond awareness campaigns and establish practical support systems, including school counselling services and stronger referral mechanisms.

Anaba said the success of the summit should not be judged by the conversations it generated alone but by the extent to which participating organisations implemented commitments to improve mental healthcare access and support for young people.