Dr Jumoke Oladele

In a fast-changing world where living conditions are deteriorating and lives are being threatened from all sides, the news that the COVID-19 virus – after claiming millions of lives and disrupting the global economy – mutated to give birth to variances that can still be contracted despite the controversial vaccination left the world populace reeling and with a severe case of the blues.

The aftermath includes bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear – and these factors are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating and compounding existing ones among those with pre-existing mental, neurological or substance use disorders. Additionally, these individuals are more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 and are at higher risk of severe outcomes and even death.

This unfortunate situation has resulted in an increased demand for mental health services. At the same time, World Health Organisation reports show that the pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide.

Dr Jumoke Oladele is developing a computerised adaptive test for evaluating mental health in the post-COVID-19 period while considering implications on the roles of stakeholders and policymaking with a focus on providing related support services in sub-Saharan Africa. This is germane, as relatively few people worldwide have access to quality mental health services. In low- and middle-income countries, more than 75% of people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders receive no treatment. Compounded by stigma, discrimination, punitive legislation and human rights abuses that are still widespread, this means that before the pandemic, 1 billion people were living with an untreated mental disorder and one person died by suicide every 40 seconds.

Dr Oladele points out that Nigeria has only eight psychiatric hospitals to serve a population of 150 million, eight schools of psychiatric nursing, and 12 medical schools, with most mental health services concentrated in the southern urban areas and no services at all in rural areas. In South Africa, mental health is largely neglected. There is no national mental health plan. Service delivery is the responsibility of provincial governments, yet of the nine provinces, only one has a separate strategic plan for mental health. There needs to be more adequately trained staff and more organisational capacity. Significant disruptions to critical mental health services were experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Improvements are urgently needed. Dr Oladele’s study will evaluate support services that would enhance the provision of mental health services and increase the well-being of the population through a transdisciplinary and collaborative approach; and to raise the stakes of Nigeria and South Africa as models for other sub-Saharan countries through the Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Quality framework of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for implementation of the right to mental health and well-being.


Dr Jumoke Oladele received a PhD in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, where she is a lecturer in the Department of Social Science Education. She specialises in educational evaluation and psychometrics, focusing on improving standardised assessment in Africa. Dr Oladele initiated the Association for Computerised Adaptive Testing in Africa, of which she is a member and serves as the Research/Membership Director. She is also a member of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, the Association of Educational Researchers and Evaluators of Nigeria, and the International Association for Computerised Adaptive Testing. She perceives transdisciplinarity as an evolving area of research interest driven by the need for more holistic views of problem-solving through research that is applicable to pedagogy and assessment practices in higher education.