The first case of Corona virus on 27 February 2020, the UN has cautioned that Africa could be the next epicenter of Covid19 pandemic if necessary measures are not taken to prevent this. The government of Nigeria has placed so much emphasis on wearing of face-mask in public, washing of hands and the prohibition of social gatherings. front-liners intervention workers on COVID19 have experienced some deaths, direct exposure to the dreaded virus and might have developed a pessimistic life expectancy
The overlooked aspect of this pandemic is the psychosocial support. Mental health in Nigeria is often ignored or never given the desired attention although emotional, psychological issues and social well-being are paramount to our everyday living. This informs how we think, feel and act especially in this period of stress caused by Covid19. This pandemic has created a restrictive environment and limited outlets for some people with mental health issues to deal with normal every day stresses.
This project aims to provide mental health support to first responders and offer intensive culturally contextualized sensitization to the public on the need to maintain social distancing and all other measures to limit the spread of the virus. This effort will equally address the information gap, myths and disbelief among Nigerians as it regards
1. Reinforce and sustain current efforts to prevent further infection and spread of the dreaded virus. 2. Promote healthier and safe social and physical content "New Normal". 3. Provide appropriate and sector-specific therapies to families, workers etc. 5. Provide Autogenic Training (AT) for care givers. 6. Provide post-trauma health strategies to mitigate the impacts of stress and traumatic experiences on health so as to help people focus on Problem, Emotion and Positive coping strategies.
