Share Ernst Josef Franzek, German professor of psychiatry and neurology and vice-president of the International Society of Differentiated Psychiatry, is a frequent visitor to Nigeria. The renowned psychiatrist, who once delivered a lecture at the Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Uselu, Benin City, recently inaugurated his non-governmental organisation, the Legionnaire for Mankind’s Health in The Netherlands. In this online interview, he speaks with EBENEZER ADUROKIYA about his plans to tackle mental illness in Nigeria with a special interest in Delta State. Excerpts:
Why did you decide to establish the NGO, Legionnaire for Mankind’s Health? The population of Nigeria, now about 200 million people, is mostly younger than 40 years. The mean life expectancy is far below 60 years. This is caused by many early deaths before age five. The reason for this is prenatal and early postnatal malnutrition, lack of adequate midwifery and early baby care. Another reason for the high prevalence of deaths before 59 years is disease which could have been easily treated by a normal functioning health care system. However, proper healthcare is only available for the privileged and upper class people. It is obvious that only the few privileged people in the country have a life expectancy compared to the civilized western countries. An overwhelming number of people in Nigeria, however, live in poverty or even in extreme poverty with less than one dollar income per day. This means that the great majority of Nigeria’s populace do not suffer from diseases caused by abundance, but in contrast by diseases caused by scarcity like lack of healthy food, lack of clean drinking water, lack of proper sanitation. It screams to the sky that more than 40 million people do not even have functioning toilets and adequate sanitation.