Nearly 2.4 million people with mental illness in Ghana - WHO raises alarm

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised an alarming concern, stating that nearly 2.4 million Ghanaians may be grappling with various degrees of mental illness.

His revelation underscores the urgent need for increased collaboration to strengthen Ghana's struggling mental healthcare system, including infrastructure and technical support.

Ghana's Mental Health Authority has repeatedly expressed dismay over the severely underfunded state of the country's mental healthcare system.

Coupled with the significant deterioration of existing infrastructure, these challenges are hindering the provision of adequate psychological care to Ghanaians.

In an interview with JoyNews' "Foreign Affairs," Professor Francis Kasalo, the World Health Organization representative to Ghana, expressed deep concern regarding this trend.

"It is in Ghana, for example, out of a population of almost thirty million plus, it is estimated that almost 2.4 million have a form of mental illness. That's not a small number, and if you are looking at that number, why are we not investing in ensuring that those people receive appropriate care? So the numbers are huge," myjoyonline quoted Professor Kasalo.

He pointed out that one major challenge in delivering mental healthcare in Ghana is the public's attitude toward mental health issues, often treating them lightly. Additionally, individuals suffering from mental illnesses are frequently stigmatized, perceived as difficult, or unfairly associated with anger or even spiritual problems.

In response to these challenges, Professor Kasolo revealed that WHO Ghana is actively working on establishing a comprehensive partnership framework with the Ghanaian government to address deficiencies in the mental healthcare sector.

"People should understand that we can build capacities for people who we assume are difficult people to be able to access these services to understand why they are behaving like that," he emphasized.

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