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Stakeholders at a forum on mental health service delivery in the country called for increased investment and public awareness of mental illness.
They said it became necessary as a result of growing negative public perception, myths and stigma about mental illness, hence the need for government, the public and civil society organizations. to help meet these challenges.
Stakeholders made the call to Tamale, the regional capital of the North, as part of the activities commemorating this year’s World Mental Health Day yesterday.
It was on the theme: “Mental health in an unequal world”.
According to statistics, 98 percent of people with mental disorders in the country do not have access to treatment, while the 1.4 percent of the national budget allocated to mental health has been described as woefully insufficient.
In addition, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to claim lives, jobs and loss of livelihoods, has worsened mental health conditions in the country.
Stakeholders said that if mental illness is not given the necessary attention, the situation will continue to worsen, with related consequences on the socio-economic development of the country.
Mental health day
World Mental Health Day is commemorated on October 10 each year to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts to support the sector.
The day was declared in 1992, and this year’s commemoration focuses on the issues that perpetuate inequalities in mental health care amid the global pandemic and the need for collective action by state and non-state actors, as well as individuals, to tackle such inequality to ensure that people enjoy good mental health.
The forum was hosted by Songtaba, an advocacy organization, in partnership with the Ghanaian Somubi Dwumadie program – promoting women’s mental health in Ghana, as part of a three-year project targeting people with disabilities, including the mental health in northern Ghana.
Loudspeakers
Speakers included the Northern Regional Mental Health Coordinator (RMHC), Mr. Mumuni Fuseini, and a clinical psychologist and lecturer at the University of Development Studies (UDS), the Rev. Dr. Rejoice Enyonam Hoedoafia.
Both called for the full implementation of the Mental Health Law (846) which was passed in 2012 to help tackle the inequalities that existed in the sector.
Mr Fuseini said the situation of staff in the sector in the northern, savannah and northeast regions had improved, with around 242 mental health workers, including 165 mental health nurses, 67 mental health workers, community mental health, five clinical psychiatrists, two psychiatrists and three clinical psychologists.
He said, however, that the government’s inadequate and erratic supply of mind-altering drugs remained a challenge, adding that the majority of mental health issues in the three northern regions were seizure disorders (epilepsy).
For his part, Dr Hoedoafia said that mental illness is treatable and therefore called on the public to support people with mental illness, which includes stress and depression.
She also urged the public not to view mental illness as spiritual illness, but to help victims seek appropriate medical care.
A statement signed and released by Songtaba executive director Hajia Lamnatu Adam at the end of the forum urged the government to keep its promise to build mental health hospitals in the central and northern belts of the country to improve access. mental health care. health services.
He further urged the government to urgently form a mental health board.
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