To curb the wave of mental health issues ravaging many youngsters in Nigeria, the Health Intel Trust in collaboration with SAAB embarked on a five-day mental health outreach to six secondary schools in Lagos State in May 2025.
The initiative, which combined discussions on mental health education and character-building with student engaging activities, fostered a supportive environment for young people to learn, express themselves and seek help when needed.
The outreach featured participation from six secondary schools across Lagos State. The Eletu Odibo Senior High School started off the first day, with the students getting introduced to the concept of mental health through interactive sessions which focused on self-awareness and resilience. The students actively engaged in discussions, reflecting on their experiences and demonstrating a willingness to learn and grow.
Day 2 was held at St. Francis Junior Grammar School, where the students were encouraged to share their thoughts and learn how to create a supportive environment for one another. The facilitators present engaged the students on the importance of mental health and practical self-care strategies.
The Day 3 continued at Fazil Omar Senior School, with the emphasis placed on emotional strength and open dialogue. The session provided a safe space for students to reflect, ask questions and develop essential life skills for managing emotional challenges.
The initiative extended its outreach on Day 4 to Birrel Avenue Senior High School and Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School. The students at both schools were engaged in meaningful discussions on stress management, academic pressure and self-esteem. The sessions saw high levels of participation, curiosity and openness, reinforcing the importance of continued mental health education.
On Day 5, the final day, the outreach was concluded at Onike Girls Junior High School, where the outreach was expanded to younger students. Recognising the importance of early mental health education, the facilitators adopted an interactive approach suited for their age group. This greatly impacted the sessions in both the educational benefits and the active engagement of the students. The activities delivered help to simplify mental health concepts and encourage healthy emotional habits from an early stage.
The outreach successfully engaged over 500 students across the six schools, resulting in increased awareness and better understanding of mental health issues. Students demonstrated improved knowledge of emotional well-being, as well as a greater willingness to speak openly about their experiences and support their colleagues during challenges.
With positive feedback from students and school authorities alongside the observations from facilitators and expressed interest in future collaborations by many other schools, the outreach proved successful in achieving awareness, openness and enthusiasm among the participants.
Despite the challenges encountered such as limited time for deeper interaction with students in some schools and differences in their past understanding of mental health, the Health Intel Trust’s mental health outreach in collaboration with SAAB proved highly impactful. The outcomes showed the importance of continued investment in mental health initiatives among young people and future collaborations remain both necessary and promising.