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Health News Saturday, July 20, 2019
Source: yen.com.gh
2019-07-20
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Dr. Akwasi Osei, director general of the Mental Health Authority, revealed that 41 percent of Ghanaians (41 percent) were mentally ill, especially psychological distress.
According to a study conducted by a group of university students from Yale University in the United States and from the University of Ghana, Legon, the loss of productivity resulting from the problem accounted for 7% of gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.
He was speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of an international conference on precision in psychiatric medicine.
Dr. Osei said that the 2013 academic research report showed that mental health problems should be taken seriously in the country.
He added that, apart from the loss of GDP, mental health problems threatened security, in that people suffering from such problems sometimes became violent and attacked others.
Dr. Osei said that mental health problems were on the rise in Ghana due to the abuse of cannabis and alcohol.
He refuted the notion that cannabis use would have no effect on mental health, and said studies over the years had shown a strong and indisputable correlation between the two.
"Cannabis impairs the ability of the brain to develop properly and prevents reasoning or judging properly," he said, adding that many cannabis users had dropped out of school because of their inability to cope with academic work.
He expressed the hope, however, that with the coming into force of the Mental Health Act and a legislative instrument to support it, a mental health levy would be required from the United States. Ghanaians to finance the sector.
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