A major boost has come to mental health care in Nigeria with the commissioning of a multi-million-naira free psychiatric hospital and home for the elderly in Aguleri, Anambra State. The facility, valued at N600 million, was established by Seraphic Homes Foundation, a non-profit charity founded by Evangelist Chukwuebuka Anozie Obi, Spiritual Director of Zion Prayer Movement Outreach.
The new hospital is designed to provide comprehensive psychiatric care, covering diagnosis, treatment, medication, rehabilitation, accommodation, and welfare, entirely free of charge. According to Evangelist Obi, the facility will begin full operations next month, with vehicles deployed across Anambra State to pick up mentally challenged persons from the streets for care and rehabilitation.
“This has been my childhood vision,” he explained at the inauguration. “In many parts of the world, you don’t see mentally challenged people abandoned on the streets. It is only here. This hospital will help change that reality.”
The initiative follows the opening of an orphanage and elderly people’s home in Owerri, Imo State, just five months ago. That facility provides free care, housing, feeding, and education up to university level for orphans, while also supporting elderly residents. Evangelist Obi revealed that his next target is to extend similar projects to Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers, and other states.
Governor Charles Soludo, who attended the inauguration, praised the effort and pledged government support. He promised to construct the access road to the hospital, connect it to the national grid, and provide financial assistance to sustain its operations.
The Seraphic Homes Foundation described the new psychiatric hospital as Nigeria’s first free facility of its kind, calling it a milestone in healthcare and social support. “The vision is to create a society where the mentally challenged are no longer abandoned but treated, rehabilitated, and empowered to live meaningful lives,” Obi stated.
Governor Soludo further noted, “Evangelist Ebuka Obi has demonstrated the true essence of Christianity with this project,” reaffirming his administration’s readiness to partner with the ministry in supporting vulnerable groups.
