Prioritizing mental health in Ghana

With the vision of giving equal share of the national cake to all citizenry of our country Ghana, there is always a lacuna in disguise. 

Having gone through some hurdles of life be it physical, psychology or spiritual not all people come out the same as they used to be.

Mentally challenged persons are just like all individuals in the country who have rights to claim.

The mental health Act passed in 2012(Act 846) of the Ghana’s Constitution spells out the rights, proper management, accessibility, employment and education of persons with disability and mentally challenged persons are not an exception.

With over 20,000 mentally challenged persons on the streets of Ghana, few psychiatric hospitals with low facilities as well as inequitable distribution of mental health practitioners are troubles faced in the country.

Most often, due to the limited attention and security of the few psychiatric hospitals, most mentally challenged persons run out of the hospitals to the streets for their liberty.

About seven years ago during the reign of the outgone President John Dramani Mahama, only 100 mentally challenged persons were taken from the street and given treatment as part of his vision to fight mental defects on the streets.

With the new development of the incumbent government to attend to the mentally challenged, the Mental Health Advocate (MHA) in collaboration with Ministry of Health in the month of February this year passed the 2019-2023 proposal to get the mentally challenged people from the street and give them treatment but no air has been blown yet.

To talk about the challenges faced by mentally challenged persons, they are sometimes beaten in their quest for food and it also becomes wired to see female mentally challenged persons carrying pregnancy.

The question is, who is responsible?

With the love and keen to promote equality in the country, let’s care for the mentally challenged.

Manifestos should from henceforth begin to outline their vision for the mentally challenged to bring the mentally challenged at heart.

Source:Agnes Oteng