Gender and the Burden of Depression in Nigeria
Living in Nigeria can be challenging for many. From issues of insecurity like kidnapping and terrorism, to the broader economic malaise of high inflation and low economic growth, to the daily challenges of running a business, these challenges put pressure on the mental health of Nigerians.
A 2018 study by the World Bank looks at the first nationally representative estimates of chronic depression in Nigeria to shed light on how it may be linked to economic outcomes, such as the labour market and human capital investments, especially in heavy-conflict areas or for individuals or communities who have experienced shocks or deaths.
Broad Impacts of depression
The study found that 22% of Nigerian respondents have depressive symptoms, with 74% of that number being household heads. The fact that more household heads experience depression should be no surprise, as they are tasked with being breadwinners. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
The study also found that being in the bottom 30% of the income distribution increased the likelihood of depression. Once again, this would be no surprise. Financial pressures tend to strain every aspect of one’s life. Being unable to care for one’s family due to financial hardship is sure to affect the mental health of the breadwinner.
Depression is strongly associated with adverse events, like conflict. Given Nigeria’s numerous security crises, this should be of interest to policymakers. In fact, the study found that more than 50% of respondents affected by conflicts were depressed, a rate that is twice the national average.
This also makes sense. Conflict leads to loss of life and property. In some cases, all a person owns can be caught in a bloody conflict or the individual can be dispossessed as a result or lose loved ones. Such losses are likely to trigger depressive episodes, making the affected people less likely to participate in society.
This brings us to another finding of the study, which is that a respondent who has depressive symptoms is eight percent less likely to participate in the labour market, like agricultural activities for men and non-farm self-employment for women. A key outcome of the various conflicts in Nigeria – particularly terrorist activity and farmer-herder conflicts – has been reduced farming activity, which has hurt domestic agricultural productivity and increased food prices.
The Gender dimension to depression
Depression does not appear to affect both genders in Nigeria equally. According to the study, 27% of respondents with depressive symptoms are female, while 73% are male. With men more likely to be the breadwinners in the home or at least take more psychological responsibility to provide for their families financially, adverse events like loss of jobs or the inability to engage in farming activities will hit them disproportionately. There is also the issue that these men may lack the tools to process their trauma effectively, where it manifests in behaviour like irritability, anger, risk taking and substance abuse.
Another gendered impact of depression is its impact on young girls. The World Bank study found that families with a parent who has depressive symptoms spend nearly 30 US$ less in educational expenses annually, driven by lower investments among older girls between 12 and 18 years of age. In addition, younger children (particularly girls) between 5 and 11 years of age who live with a parent with depressive symptoms are 2.5 percentage points more likely to work.
Since depression is likely to hurt a person’s productivity and therefore income, it means that others in the household have to step up to provide the necessary support. That is a task that often falls on the girl child.
There is also a clear gender difference in suicides in Nigeria. Data from the World Population Review has shown that between 2019 to 2021 more Nigerian men have committed suicide than women due factors like unbearable emotional pain, extreme anxiety or sadness, full of rage or agitated, guilt or ashamed, that there is no reason to live, severe fluctuations in mood or changes in mood.
Although the percentage of suicidal cases among men and women dropped between 2019 to 2021 the figure remains higher among men.
Aside from Nigeria, other West African countries have recorded cases of suicide as a result of depression and other mental health issues.
Senegal, Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea have the highest number of male suicide cases among West African states. While Gambia, Niger and the Benin Republic have the least number of male suicide rates.
For women, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Gambia have the highest number of female suicide cases while Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria have the lowest number of women suicide among the West African Countries.
Formulating Policies Toward Reducing Depression
Depression affects how people think, feel, and act. It can also impact physical health and other aspects of a person’s life. There is an urgent need for a collaborative effort between the government, policymakers and international organisations to strategize for the mental well-being of the populace in promoting mental health care and services.
The government and NGOs need to invest more in research and development as well as an information centre on current trends, and areas of unmet need for mental health services to help make informed decisions on policy directions. These will help to trigger national surveys on the subject matter to develop policy direction, blueprints and legislation on facts and evidence-based research and outcomes.
There is also the need for a much greater number of mental health professionals to support citizens going through depression and other mental health challenges. Like many low income countries, Nigeria faces a severe shortage of mental health professionals. The World Health Organisation recommends a ratio of 1 mental health professional to 10,000 people. Given Nigeria’s population, that would require a strength of around 22,000 mental health professionals. Instead, Nigeria has about 200, according to the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN).
As the country goes through hard times economically and otherwise, it is crucial for this lack of mental health professionals to be addressed, first by ensuring that existing professionals are kept in the country through better conditions of service, and then by ensuring that new ones are trained. The same could be said of the entire medical professional space.
Apart from government policies, individuals also need to take steps to address depression.
For instance, exercise is a known way to improve depressive symptoms. People experiencing these symptoms can try just 5 minutes of walking or another enjoyable activity in the morning and another 5 minutes in the evening. From there, they can gradually increase this time in the coming days and weeks.
Various factors can trigger symptoms of stress and depression, and these will vary between individuals. It may be possible to avoid or reduce exposure to triggers. Although avoiding triggers is not an option, it may be possible to reduce exposure, for example, by deciding on one specific time of day to check emails or watch the news.
Also, the society at large can provide support for people battling with depression by showering them with emotional support, care, love and attention.
Thanks for reading this edition of SenorRita. It was written by Kafilat Taiwo and edited by Joachim MacEbong.
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