Officers wives launch first trauma centre, to boost troops’ mental fitness
Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (right); his wife and president of DEPOWA, Mrs. Vickie Irabor; first lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and other dignitaries at the ground-breaking of Post Trauma Stress Disorder centre, Abuja
Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), has laid the foundation for a world class Post-Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD) centre in Abuja, to care for military and police personnel with mental health challenges.
The first lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, who spoke at the centre’s ground-breaking ceremony, described it as ‘first of its kind’ and pledged to prevail on the Federal Government to fund the initiative.
She applauded the wife of the chief of Defence Staff for conceptualising such an initiative, pledging to ensure its completion before the end of her husband’s tenure.
President of DEPOWA, Mrs. Vickie Irabor, said the rehabilitation centre will evaluate, counsel and provide adequate support to personnel and their spouses prior to reintegration at the end of their operational tour of duty.
She said: “While we have hospitals to take care of physical injuries, we have realised that there is a huge gap in mental health responses globally, including Nigeria; especially in the treatment, management, and rehabilitation of PTSD faced by families in the Armed Forces.
“In response to these issues, DEPOWA, under my leadership, decided to pursue the implementation of a novel, first-of-its-kind, Legacy-based Armed Forces PTSD centre.”
“When completed, the centre will help evaluate, counsel, and provide adequate support to personnel and, by extension, their families before reintegration from conflict zones. It will also help to enhance national, regional, and global stability, as well as help boost military capability to continue to deal with all forms of insecurity.
“I believe that establishing this facility will be a step in ensuring the stability of military families post-conflict engagements and encouragement to officers and soldiers that help is available should they need it after assignments. The facility will also serve as a repository for future research on mental health challenges in the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”
Present at the ground-breaking were Vice President of Liberia, Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor, the former President of Malawi, Dr. Joyce Banda, the United Kingdom House of Lords member, Baroness Sandy Verma and Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, among others.
