Afrigather Accra, Ghana – A tragic explosion that levelled the whole village of Appiatse in Ghana’s Western area in January 2022, taking the lifetime of Grace Essien’s* husband, actually halted life as they knew it for her and their three youngsters.
Traumatized and grieving, the 30-year-old recollects feeling like her world had ended. “That was some of the troublesome occasions in my life. I used to be so devastated that, even after just a few weeks, listening to any sounds in any respect was simply driving me loopy.”
It took six months of rigorous psychological well being and psychosocial help from the Psychiatric Affiliation of Ghana in collaboration with the Pantang Hospital with help from the World Well being Group (WHO), and different stakeholders to supply Essien new hope.
“Issues have modified considerably for me due to the counselling and help I obtained. Now I’ve been in a position to begin a small enterprise and am in a position to deal with my youngsters,” Essien recounts.
The 800-strong Appiatse group was devastated by the incident when a motorbike and a truck transporting mining explosives collided. The explosion that resulted killed no less than 13 individuals, and injured about 200 others.
Whereas the federal government of Ghana and different stakeholders mobilized to offer important aid to the survivors, WHO, the Psychiatric Affiliation of Ghana and the Pantang Hospital cooperated to supply psychological well being and psychosocial help.
“Survivors of disasters like this are at excessive danger of psychological well being issues with out pressing intervention,” notes Dr Ruth Owusu-Antwi, President of the Psychiatric Affiliation of Ghana. “We seen acute stress reactions, post-traumatic stress issues, nervousness and despair among the many survivors.”
WHO, with help from the UK Division of Well being and Social Care, supplied technical and monetary help for the coaching of 25 psychiatrists, nurses and psychologists on the WHO psychological well being and psychosocial help toolkit, capacitating them to offer much-needed help.
“We’re completely happy to have been in a position to play a job in supporting the Ghana authorities’s response efforts to convey aid to the victims of this tragedy in Appiatse,” says Prof Francis Kasolo, WHO Consultant to Ghana. “This displays WHO’s dedication to working with governments to make psychological well being companies, a common human proper, obtainable to all.”
Dr Joana Ansong, the Noncommunicable Illnesses and Threat Components Officer at WHO Ghana provides” “We adopted totally different methods to make sure that we reached everybody who wanted help. Our group, household and particular person therapies have been all important to bringing aid to the survivors.”
This help straight impacted 250 adults and 20 youngsters recognized to have extreme psychological well being challenges with the potential to escalate.
“This intervention got here at a time that issues have been troublesome and folks turned very hostile due to the trauma,” recollects Thomas Yaw Enyam, the Meeting Member for Beppo electoral space. “It has contributed lots to our therapeutic as a group.”
A couple of yr on, Appiatse is steadily being rebuilt, and survivors resembling Essien are placing their lives again collectively and slowly shifting on.
“Via the counselling periods, I’ve been in a position to overcome among the challenges and I’m very grateful for that,” she says.
*Identify has been modified to guard her id.
