A New Phase Begins: Advancing Integrated Mental Health and NTD Care in Nigeria
On March 18, 2026, stakeholders from across Nigeria’s health and development ecosystem gathered in Calabar, Cross River State for the official launch of the second phase of the Integrated Mental Health and Neglected Tropical Diseases (mhCAP-NTDs) project.
The launch marked more than the start of a new project cycle. It signaled a continued commitment to addressing a long-standing gap in public health, the intersection between mental health and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
The mhCAP-NTDs initiative enters this new phase following the successful completion of its pilot implementation, which demonstrated that effective NTD care must go beyond clinical treatment to include mental health support, social inclusion, and community engagement. This second phase is a three-year research and implementation project (2026–2028), focused on evaluating how an integrated care model can be sustained and scaled within Nigeria’s primary healthcare system. Implementation will take place in Ogoja LGA, Cross River State, where the project will generate evidence on what works, what can be improved, and how the model can be expanded to other parts of the country.
The project launch was led by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with key consortium partners, including the University of Jos, Cross River State Ministry of Health, RedAid Nigeria, IDEA Nigeria, and the IMPACT Group.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Daniel Egbule, CEO of RedAid Nigeria, expressed appreciation to the project funder, the Anesvad Foundation, for its continued support in advancing the integration of mental health into NTD programming. He noted that the transition from the pilot phase to this second phase represents an important step toward strengthening implementation and expanding impact: “We are looking forward to a seamless implementation and possible expansion to more states, building on what we have learned so far.”
Representing the Honourable Minister of Health, Dr. Tunde Ojo emphasized the importance of addressing the interconnected nature of mental health and NTDs: “Mental health and NTDs have a lot of intersectionality, and it takes an integrated approach to address the gaps. The learnings from this phase will support long-term implementation and sustainability across primary healthcare systems in Nigeria.”
As the project moves forward, the focus will be on generating robust evidence on the effectiveness, sustainability, and scalability of the integrated mhCAP-NTDs model. The goal is clear: to move from pilot success to system-wide adoption, ensuring that people affected by NTDs receive not only treatment, but also the mental health support and social inclusion necessary for full recovery.
This new phase builds directly on the lessons, experiences, and outcomes from the first phase of the project.
To explore the full findings and insights from the pilot implementation: