The Kaduna State Government has established Literacy and Vocational Skills Centres to assist victims of drug abuse and mental health challenges under the globally recognized Kaduna Model.
Director General of the Kaduna State Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (KADSAMHSA), Dr. Joseph Ike, announced this on Wednesday during a press briefing to mark World Mental Health Day in Kaduna.
“The Rigasa Centre recently graduated 200 children from its six-month literacy programme,” Ike said. “The Unguwan Muazu Centre runs fish farming and horticulture projects, while the Kawo Centre will train 90 adolescents in jewellery making and hardware repair.”
Dr. Ike said Governor Uba Sani has transformed the state’s mental health and drug response into a proactive, compassionate, and integrated public health system now globally acknowledged as The Kaduna Model.
“Kaduna is the first and only jurisdiction in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement a comprehensive Alternatives to Incarceration programme in partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime,” he said. “This shifts focus from punishment to rehabilitation and breaks the cycle of addiction and incarceration.”
He explained that the state replaced the colonial-era Lunacy Act of 1954 with the Kaduna State Mental Health Bill, making mental health a core human right.
“Governor Sani has adopted the WHO’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), integrating mental health into general healthcare,” Ike said.
Under the initiative, 100 frontline health workers from 10 General Hospitals have been trained to detect and manage common mental health disorders.
Dr. Ike said the Community-First approach has resulted in the creation of 20 Drop-In Centres within Primary Health Care facilities, providing free treatment to over 20,000 clients in one year.
He added that the first Community-Based Treatment and Recovery Centre, launched in May 2024, has rehabilitated 116 individuals, while three new centres are underway.
The state also promotes prevention through Kd-CHAMPS and the Unplugged school programme, which have reached 17,000 students and trained 200 teachers.
