15,000 secondary schools for migraine awareness in Taraba

Plans to enhance the understanding of migraine disease among no fewer than 15,000 secondary school students across Taraba State have been put in place by the Centre for Initiative and Development (CFID).

The aim, according to the Centre, is to create a high level of awareness of the disease among secondary school students in the state.

The leadership of the Centre revealed during a town hall meeting on Migraine and Headache Awareness Month that 4,500 educators, 7,000 students, and 23,000 community members will be equipped with relevant knowledge to identify students and community members suffering from the ailment.

Speaking at the meeting in Jalingo, the project coordinator, Oscar Fack, said the project’s goal is to improve access to diagnosis and self-care for diagnosed patients.

Fack announced that the Centre is set to create 20 migraine support clubs in schools and 15 social networks and support groups in workplaces and communities. They will identify and train 80 students, 40 educators, and 30 community members as migraine champions and advocates.

Plans to adapt and create media toolkits in English and other local languages to raise awareness and increase access to diagnosis are already in the pipeline.

Despite migraines’ significant impact on individuals’ quality of life, they remain widely misunderstood and stigmatised, Fack said. He called for the establishment of a friendly environment for people living with the condition.

Aligning with Fack, a consultant family physician from the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Mashak Gusen, called for the immediate establishment of policies to address migraine management in the state and Nigeria at large.

Highlighting the widespread and debilitating impact of migraines, Gusen stressed the necessity of collective collaboration to create a migraine-friendly environment and implement supportive policies.

The project, supported by the Pfizer Independent Medical Educational Grant, brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Education State Post-Primary Management Board, the National Human Rights Commission (NHMRC), community and religious leaders, and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA).