Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI), has won the 2017 Nelson Mandela-Graça Michel Innovation Award in mental health.
Victor Ugo, founder of Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) and himself a medical professional, said:
“This is an auspicious moment for us and we want to dedicate it to every Nigerian youth coping with mental illness.
We are motivated to keep up the discussion and hope our voice will continue to resonate both within and beyond our borders.”
Grant Clark, Senior Media Advisor to 2017 International Civil Society Week, said that MANI was selected from among 300 nominations across the globe as the winner in the Civil Society Organisation category.
In his words:
“The awards seek to recognize outstanding bravery and achievement towards social change.
From humble beginnings, MANI, which promotes mental health awareness in Nigeria, has grown to be the largest and most active mental health NGO.”
He said that former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, praised MANI’s achievement with the following declaration:
“We commend the work of Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative for opening the space to improve the lives of young Nigerians living with mental illness, who are too often stigmatized and the cause of great suffering for many people.”
The Nelson Mandela-Graça Michel Innovation Award, named after human rights icon Nelson Mandela and former First Lady of South Africa and Mozambique, Graça Machel, honour remarkable bravery and innovation in creating social change and empowering future generations.
Ms. Machel said at the award presentation that:
It is important that those of us with the freedom to speak out, use our voices to lift up these courageous individuals and organisations.”
