She Writes Woman is empowering people with mental health conditions to find their voices, advocate for their own rights, gain access to our digital community and mental healthcare. This project will - 1. Amplify the voices of 40 million Nigerians living with mental health conditions by empowering them with knowledge and information of their disability and rights, 2. Provide 3,556 beneficiaries with free telecounselling 3. Grant 1,000 people access to our digital mental health community
There are about 40 million Nigerians living with a mental health condition according to the Federal Ministry of Health. Stigma and a lack of awareness have silenced and shamed this population. Due to outdated Lunacy Act of 1958 and age old traditional practices, people with mental health conditions are often left out of fundamental decisions about their health and have their human rights violated (e.g. shackling). This project will reach 100,000 of our beneficiaries.
She Writes Woman is giving mental health a voice in Nigeria by reorienting and empowering people with mental health conditions. We do this by teaching beneficiaries about their rights, how to accurately talk about their condition and how to use international human rights standards to advocate for their rights. As a result, our beneficiaries are able to make decisions about their conditions, participate in community and national discourse as well as gain adequate representation in policy making.
This project will reach 100,000 people with mental health conditions, allowing 100 of them to actively participate in changing how Nigerians feel and behave towards people with mental health conditions. Additionally, they will also form a diverse group to ensure representation of persons with mental health conditions during law/policy decision making and health reforms across Nigeria.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).