A’Ibom Assembly passes landmark Mental Health Bill
By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
Akwa Ibom Assembly has passed into law a landmark Bill establishing a Mental Health Services Department to regulate and improve mental healthcare delivery across the state.
The legislation, considered a major step toward modernizing the state’s healthcare system, followed the presentation of a report by the House Committee chairman on Health, Hon. Moses Essien at yesterday’s plenary.
The Bill had earlier scaled second reading before being referred to the committee who conducted a public hearing inviting memoranda from stakeholders in the health sector. My
Presenting the report during the plenary of the House Essien, who is also the House Committee chairman on nutrition and food security, explained that the law provides a coordinated framework for mental health services in Akwa Ibom State.
He expressed optimism that the new law would safeguard the rights of persons with intellectual, psychosocial, and cognitive disabilities while also improving access to quality mental healthcare, rehabilitation, and community-based treatment.
According to the Ibiono Ibom lawmaker, key provisions of the legislation include guidelines for obtaining consent for treatment, empowering the Commissioner for Health to formulate necessary regulations, and repealing the outdated Lunacy Law of 1916.
He commended the speaker and members of the house for their support and urged his colleagues to adopt the committee’s recommendations.
Following deliberations, the House dissolved into the Committee of the Whole for a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill. The report was subsequently adopted, and the bill passed through third reading.
House Speaker, Udeme Otong, thereafter, announced its passage into law and directed the Clerk of the House, Mrs. NsiakakAbasi Orok, to transmit the resolution to the State Governor for assent.
Speaking on the impact of the new bill, Essien said, “the new law is expected to usher in a more humane, structured, and rights-based approach to mental healthcare delivery in Akwa Ibom State”.
