By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Oct 12, GNA – Mr Peter Badimak Yaro, Executive Director of BasicNeeds-Ghana, has called on Government to ensure people with mental health conditions benefit from social protection interventions.
Interventions such as Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty, District Assemblies’ Common Fund and free basic and secondary education are critical in relieving people with mental health problems.
He further urged government to ensure that the Mental Health Law (Act 846; 2012) and its attendant Legislative Instrument (LI) are implemented to the letter, as well as establish the Mental Health Tribunals and Visiting Committees and resource them to function as the law mandates.
Mr Yaro indicated that if those steps and actions were taken, coupled with increasing investments on mental health care, particularly ensuring that mental health care services, were covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme, “Then we can see real progress in mental health in Ghana.”
He was addressing a community durbar to mark this year’s World Mental Health Day at Sagnarigu in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern Region.
The event, organised by BasicNeeds-Ghana, and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), with funding support from German Development Agency (GIZ), was on the theme: “Making Mental Health and Wellbeing for all a Global Priority.”
The event, attended by community members, including some returned migrants, highlighted the need for attention to mental health and wellbeing of everyone, including returned migrants.
World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10, every year, to raise awareness on mental health conditions.
Whilst it is estimated that one in eight people globally are living with a mental disorder, the services, skills and funding available for mental health are in short supply and fall far below what is needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Returned migrants are a small but highly valuable group of people who have unique challenges, most of them bordering on their mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.
Mr Yaro said, “We should know that returned migrants in many instances come with skills set and experiences that can be valuable to their communities. However, most returned migrants reach their homes and communities worse than they left or were expected to be by their communities. This impacts on their ability to resettle and to re-integrate well in their families and communities.”
He spoke about the country’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) strategy, saying “It is inadequate because mental health is not given the attention required. There are no concrete actions to address mental health and wellbeing of the population.
“We are engaging government, particularly the Executive and Legislative arms to refocus and ensure mental health is part and parcel of the UHC strategy and initiatives.”
Mr Florian Braendli, Programme Manager at IOM, said: “Since 2017, IOM Ghana has supported over 4,500 with assisted voluntary return, more than 2,100 with reintegration assistance and – with the support of GIZ – some 700 migrants with individual or group therapy sessions.”
He said despite all efforts made by IOM and its partners, stigma and discrimination continued to be a barrier to social inclusion and access to the right care and called on the citizenry to support efforts in increasing awareness about which preventive mental health interventions worked.
Sagnar-Naa Naa Yakubu Abdulai, Paramount of Chief of Sagnarigu emphasised need for all to be concerned about issues of mental health and help raise awareness about mental health conditions.
Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, gave assurance that the planned construction of a mental health hospital in the region would help ensure professional services to persons with mental health conditions.
He called on all stakeholders to show care and support to people with mental health conditions and stop discriminating against them.
GNA