Ghana’s mental healthcare burdened with huge financial deficit - Dr Akwesi Osei

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mental Health Authority (MHA) Dr Akwesi Osei has called for increased investments and attention to mental healthcare in Ghana.

He said resources are urgently needed to relocate mentally ill persons on the streets to fit-for-purpose facilities and also ensure that the needs of persons with mental illness and mental health care workers are well catered for.

Dr Osei told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra on Monday that mental healthcare financing in Ghana is still a problem as the three psychiatric hospitals; Ankaful, Pantang and the Accra Psychiatric hospitals, are not getting adequate funds from the government to facilitate their operation.

“The MHA for instance, has received about GHS 1.2 million for the first quarter of this year, while the various psychiatric hospitals have received a financial release of GHS 8 million each for the same period, this is better than previously but we still have a huge gap in mental healthcare financing,” he said.

“All along, we do not have the needed structures and medications to provide efficient mental healthcare, more than ever, we all need to change the approach and lobby for the levy to be established and agreed to be taxed into the levy,” he stated.

He said the MHA is considering negotiations for the inclusion of mental healthcare services on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to ensure that it is well subsidized and accessible to all.