World Mental Health Day: Plan International Donates Drugs Worth N80m to Sokoto Govt

Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

Plan International Nigeria has donated family planning commodities, STI drugs and psychotropic medications worth over N80 million to the Sokoto State Government to strengthen mental and adolescent health services in the state.

Presenting the donation at the Doctor’s House, Old Airport, Sokoto, the Country Director of Plan International Nigeria, Dr. Charles Usie, said the gesture was part of activities to commemorate the 2026 World Mental Health Day.

Usie, represented by Mr. Laban Onesimus, said the donation was made under the Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Nigeria (ASPIRE) project, a multi-sectoral initiative funded by Global Affairs Canada.

According to him, the ASPIRE project is being implemented by Plan International Nigeria in Bauchi and Sokoto States to address interconnected barriers affecting adolescent girls and young women across SRHR, gender equality and mental health.

He explained the intervention followed routine quality-of-care and supportive-supervision activities which identified gaps in the availability of essential family planning commodities, STI medicines and psychotropic medications in supported health facilities.

He noted that access to essential health commodities is critical to ensuring that adolescents, young women and others requiring care can access timely, appropriate and uninterrupted health services, particularly for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and mental health needs.

The donated items include Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA) both SC and IM, Microgynon pills, Gold Circle condoms, Doxycycline, Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin, Metronidazole, Azithromycin and a wide range of psychotropic medications.

Others are mood stabilizers and anti-epilepsy drugs such as Carbamazepine and Sodium Valproate, antidepressants including Amitriptyline, Fluoxetine, Escitalopram and Sertraline, as well as antipsychotics such as Haloperidol, Risperidone, Olanzapine, Trifluoperazine and Chlorpromazine.

Usie explained the commodities will be formally handed over to the State Ministries of Health in Sokoto and Bauchi States for integration into existing government storage, distribution and monitoring systems rather than creating parallel structures.

He stressed that the commemoration provides an opportunity to move the conversation on mental health from mere awareness to practical action by strengthening access to essential services, supporting continuity of care and reinforcing government ownership.

He added the approach is intended to strengthen institutional ownership and support continuity beyond the project lifecycle, with evidence from commodity utilisation expected to support future government forecasting and budgeting.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Sokoto State, Dr. Faruk Abubakar Wurno, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care Services, Dr. Bello Marnona, thanked Plan International for the benevolent gesture.

Wurno said the donation would complement government efforts in providing quality healthcare delivery to the people of the state, noting that the administration of Governor Ahmed Aliyu takes health issues seriously.

He said health is one of the key pillars of the 9-point SMART Agenda of the present administration, which is committed to ensuring accessible and affordable healthcare for all residents.

Also speaking, the Medical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto Dr. Abubakar Baguda, represented by the Head of Clinical Services, Dr. Zubairu Umar, urged the public to stop stigmatising people with mental ailments and advised those affected to seek medical attention early.

Baguda also implored youths to avoid substance abuse, which he described as a major cause of mental health challenges, while calling for sustained awareness to reduce stigma and promote timely access to care.

The event was attended by officials of the State Ministry of Health, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Hospital Management Board, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, community and women leaders, NAWOJ, health workers, mental health practitioners and students of health institutions, ended with a call for increased government commitment to commodity monitoring and sustained financing.