The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 2.4 million Ghanaians may be experiencing mental health issues of varying severity.
The organization thinks that in order to rebuild Ghana’s unsteady mental healthcare system, there is a need for more infrastructure collaboration as well as technical support.
The severely underfunded state of Ghana’s mental healthcare system has been the subject of numerous critical remarks by the Mental Health Authority of the nation.
The authority claims that this, along with the sharp decline in the quality of the pre-existing infrastructure, offers little to meet Ghanaians’ psychological needs.
Professor Francis Kasalo voiced concerns about the trend in Ghana during an interview with Blessed Sogah, the World Health Organization’s representative in Ghana, on Foreign Affairs on JoyNews.
For instance, in Ghana, where there are over thirty million people, it is believed that nearly 2.4 million suffer from a mental disorder. That’s a significant amount, so if you’re considering it, why don’t we make the necessary investments to make sure those individuals get the treatment they need? So, he added, “the numbers are enormous.”
The public’s perception of mental illness, which is likely to be viewed as a trivial concern, is a significant obstacle to the provision of mental healthcare in Ghana, according to the WHO country representative.
He also criticized the tendency to stigmatize people with these conditions by labeling them as angry, naturally difficult, or, in the worst circumstances, spiritually troubled.
In response to these developments, Professor Kasolo disclosed that WHO, Ghana, his organization, is developing a comprehensive framework of collaboration with the Ghanaian government with the goal of correcting the shortcomings in the mental healthcare sector.
People ought to be aware that we are able to provide these services to those whom we may think to be challenging so they can learn why they are acting in that way. He stated.
Reacting to this some people tagged Abena Korkor as the leader of people with mental health illness. This is because she was the first celebrity who openly confessed to being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.
Source: Ghanacelebrities.com