For an Abuja resident spending hours in traffic, a worker struggling with rising living costs or a parent worried about the quality of food available to the family, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can seem like another burden in an already demanding routine.

Yet, experts say, better health could begin with simple changes: eating fresh, locally available foods, growing vegetables at home, spending more time outdoors and finding ways to manage the pressures of everyday life.

These formed the focus of discussions in Abuja on Saturday as medical practitioners, nutritionists and agricultural experts called for greater attention to the links between nutrition, mental health and the environment, urging Nigerians to embrace preventive healthcare and make healthier living part of their daily routines.

The gathering marked the fourth anniversary of Revitalise Wellness and Holistic Gardens and coincided with World Mental Health Day 2026. Participants highlighted the need for accessible green spaces, household gardening and community-based initiatives to improve wellbeing beyond the hospital.

At the centre of the initiative is Revitalise Wellness and Holistic Gardens, which seeks to connect healthcare, nutrition, nature and gardening by encouraging individuals and families to take greater responsibility for their wellbeing.

Founder of the centre and Chief Executive Officer of Child Care and Wellness Clinics, Abuja, Dr Yashua Alkali Hamza, said healthcare should extend beyond treating illnesses to addressing the lifestyle, nutritional and environmental factors that influence people’s health.

A paediatric neurologist and public health specialist, Hamza said her experience in medical practice had reinforced the importance of considering patients’ physical, emotional and nutritional needs.

Child Care and Wellness Clinics began operations in February 2013 to provide family-centred healthcare. The wellness centre was subsequently established to encourage people to relax, reconnect with nature and pay greater attention to their overall wellbeing.

“Medicine should be holistic. Those things that they call unorthodox medicine should not be called unorthodox. Everything should be together,” she said, advocating an integrated approach to healthcare.

“Our bodies are powerful. They are our best medicine. But the only problem is that we get in the way. We get in the way by lifestyle, by not nourishing it,” she added.

Hamza said wellness should encompass what people eat, how they manage stress and whether they give their bodies the support needed to maintain good health.

“When we talk about wellness, we must look at the whole family and the whole environment. A child may come to the clinic with a medical problem, but we also need to ask about nutrition, sleep, emotional wellbeing and the conditions at home,” she said.

She urged families to regard preventive healthcare as a practical, everyday responsibility rather than something reserved for hospitals or people with substantial financial resources.
“Prevention begins with the small decisions people make daily. It can begin with choosing better food, creating time to rest, spending time in nature and learning how to care for the body before illness develops,” she said.

Hamza also highlighted the value of gardening, describing it as an activity that could provide food while encouraging physical activity and supporting mental wellbeing.

“Gardening gives people more than vegetables. It gives them activity, responsibility, connection and a reason to step away from the pressures of daily life. These things can support both physical and mental health,” she said.

For many Nigerian households, however, eating healthily involves more than understanding the nutritional value of different foods. Food prices, household income, access to fresh produce and the time available to prepare meals all influence dietary choices.

Experts therefore emphasised the importance of making nutritious food affordable and accessible, noting that encouraging the consumption of fresh, locally available produce and supporting household food production could help families improve their diets.

They also cautioned that organic produce was not automatically more nutritious than conventionally grown food, stressing that food safety, proper handling, clean water and safe cultivation practices remained essential.

The call for a broader understanding of health was echoed by paediatric and family healthcare practitioner Dr Muinat Oyelakin, who said effective healthcare required practitioners to consider the individual as a whole.

Drawing on more than 10 years of experience in childcare, Oyelakin said physical conditions, nutritional deficiencies and psychological wellbeing could interact to influence health outcomes.
“Wellness is derived from the individual. It could be mentally, physically, or it could be nutritional deficiency,” she said.

She identified counselling, nutritional guidance and attention to emotional wellbeing as important components of comprehensive healthcare, urging Nigerians to become more conscious of their food choices and living environments.

For parents, she said, supporting a child’s wellbeing required more than responding to illness. It also involved ensuring adequate nutrition, recognising emotional distress and providing opportunities for physical activity and healthy development.

Beyond the consultation room, agriculturist and founder of CHC Agritech Africa, Ruby Ross, advocated greater investment in sustainable agriculture and urban gardening, arguing that households could contribute to food production even where land was limited.

Ross, who said she had visited about 20 states since beginning her agricultural advocacy activities in 2018, highlighted the role of women in food production and household nutrition.

She said her organisation was involved in an initiative promoting organic farming in 100 communities across parts of the Niger Delta, with plans to train farmers and encourage sustainable agricultural practices.

According to her, the initiative uses microbiome technology and beneficial microorganisms to improve soil health and support agricultural production.

Ross challenged the assumption that gardening was possible only for people with large plots of land or
those living in rural communities.

With suitable containers, safe growing media, adequate sunlight and access to water, she said, households could cultivate selected vegetables in courtyards, balconies and other available spaces.

“Today, I want you to think of taking action because it is very important to take action in what we do,” she told participants.

For families struggling with food costs, a small garden could supplement household supplies while helping children understand where food comes from and why nutrition matters. Gardening could also promote physical activity, environmental awareness and shared responsibility among family members.

Community gardens, meanwhile, could bring residents together to exchange knowledge, acquire practical skills and work towards common goals.

However, sustaining urban gardening requires access to water, suitable growing spaces, affordable materials and knowledge of safe cultivation methods.

To address some of these challenges, Ross proposed establishing a Green Skills Gardening Club in collaboration with Revitalise Wellness and Garden Centre to provide practical training and encourage more residents to embrace gardening.

She urged participants to start with a few vegetables before expanding into other crops, while calling for stronger links between farmers, producers and markets that recognise quality and sustainable agricultural practices.

Such partnerships could connect urban consumers seeking fresh produce with farmers looking for reliable markets, while creating opportunities for small-scale enterprise and skills development, particularly among women and young people.

The discussions also highlighted the psychological benefits of connecting with nature, particularly in rapidly expanding cities where traffic congestion, noise, demanding work schedules and overcrowding can limit opportunities for relaxation.

Accessible green spaces can provide places to walk, exercise, socialise and take a break from daily pressures. Gardening offers another way to introduce nature into everyday life through planting, watering and caring for vegetables and other plants.

Although gardening is not a substitute for professional mental healthcare, spending time in natural surroundings and participating in meaningful outdoor activities may support stress management and psychological wellbeing.

Participants argued that parks, community gardens and other green spaces should therefore be considered important elements of urban development rather than optional amenities.

For Abuja, where urban expansion continues to reshape neighbourhoods, safe and accessible outdoor spaces could help residents incorporate recreation and physical activity into their daily routines.

Revitalise Wellness and Garden Centre is seeking to connect these concerns by providing a space where discussions about health can translate into practical activities involving nutrition, gardening and environmental awareness.

During the anniversary event, the centre’s manager, Catalina Mathias, conducted participants around the gardens and briefed them on the wellness services available.

As part of its fourth-anniversary activities, the centre, in collaboration with CHC Agritech Africa and the Association of Diplomatic Women in Nigeria, is scheduled to launch an Urban Gardening and Green Skills Hub at CWC Childcare and Wellness Clinic in Mabushi, Abuja.

The proposed hub is intended to combine gardening, practical training, wellness activities and community participation, providing residents with opportunities to acquire gardening skills and incorporate greener practices into their daily lives.

Its long-term impact will depend on sustained participation, accessible training and arrangements for maintaining the gardens beyond the launch.

President of Women Inspire Africa, Ambassador Tina Kenechukwu, also emphasised the importance of partnerships in promoting mental health awareness, agricultural development and women’s empowerment.

Kenechukwu, a television presenter, said World Mental Health Day provided an opportunity to encourage conversations about psychological wellbeing while building collaboration among businesses, non-governmental organisations, foundations and other groups working to improve people’s lives.

She said Women Inspire Africa had more than 100 businesses and organisations in its network, identifying agriculture, entrepreneurship, health awareness and women’s economic participation as potential areas for collaboration.

Teenagers’ mental health coach Coach Ifoma similarly highlighted the need to support young people experiencing emotional and psychological challenges, particularly when these difficulties affect their education, relationships and everyday activities.

Their contributions reinforced the need for families, schools, healthcare providers, community organisations, farmers and policymakers to work together in promoting healthier living.

For Revitalise Wellness and Garden Centre, the challenge is to translate the discussions into practical activities that individuals and communities can adopt and sustain. The proposed Urban Gardening and Green Skills Hub and gardening club offer potential avenues for extending the initiative beyond awareness campaigns.

The experts’ message was clear: good health should not begin and end in the hospital. It should also be reflected in the food people eat, the environments in which they live, their opportunities to connect with nature and the support available when they experience emotional difficulties.

For residents of Abuja and other parts of Nigeria, the ultimate test will be whether initiatives combining healthcare, nutrition, gardening and environmental awareness can turn healthier choices into everyday habits, making wellbeing less of an expensive privilege and more of a shared community goal.