Afrigather Accra – Diana Adom*, 54, was recognized with schizophrenia eight years in the past, a psychological well being situation that devastated her life earlier than she lastly obtained the care she wanted, together with the medicine that set her on the trail to restoration.
“I used to be listening to voices of individuals telling me hurtful issues. I turned hostile and my relationship with society modified, resulting in the collapse of my marriage,” remembers Adom, from who lives in Konongo, a city in Ghana’s central Ashanti area. Dwelling in an setting of widespread stigma and abuse from household and neighborhood members, it was particularly painful that her two youngsters weren’t spared.
“It was tough for me to even come out of the room as folks hurled insults at me. My youngsters had been mocked and known as ‘youngsters of a mad lady’,” she says.
Adom sought out well being providers as her situation worsened. After being recognized, she began remedy instantly.
She credit the psychological well being staff on the Konongo Odumasi Authorities Hospital in her hometown for serving to change her life, due to the Ghana authorities’s continued drive to enhance psychological well being service supply.
Obed Amoakwah, the district focal particular person in control of psychological well being, has been offering long-term care to Adom. He says that whereas it took time to construct belief together with her, she now “involves us repeatedly for her medicine”. Adom receives month-to-month antipsychotics, in addition to psychosocial remedy for herself and her household.
Greater than 2.4 million folks in Ghana are estimated to be dwelling with numerous psychological well being situations, 98% of them nonetheless missing entry to medicine and to certified service suppliers. The inadequacy of remedy, along with the related stigma, means folks like Adom typically flip to non secular healers, or shrink back from any assist by any means.
Amongst its efforts to enhance psychological well being service supply, the federal government of Ghana developed the nation’s Nationwide Psychological Well being Coverage 2019–2030. The coverage goals to decentralize psychological well being care providers by integrating them into major well being care.
By way of authorities and donor help, the objective is to supply high quality psychological well being providers to anybody in want, in any a part of the nation, together with people who find themselves susceptible or can not afford care. The coverage additionally guides the coaching and regulation of operations of psychological well being service suppliers, and amenities.
“We proceed to discover all avenues to make sure that we strengthen our psychological well being service system into one which responds totally to the wants of purchasers,” says Dr Amma Boadu, Deputy Director for Psychological Well being on the Ghana Well being Service.
World Well being Group (WHO) help for these efforts has been each technical and monetary. In 2021, Ghana was chosen to be a part of the WHO Director Normal’s Particular Initiative for Psychological Well being, to help well being system transformation and scaling up of psychological well being providers. It’s one in every of 9 nations worldwide and the second in Africa to be a part of this initiative.
In Ghana, the initiative goals to make sure entry to built-in, high quality, people-centred psychological well being look after a further 5.2 million folks. It’s already serving to enhance the nation’s psychological well being coverage by establishing a coordinating mechanism amongst civil society organizations, folks dwelling with psychological well being situations, businesses that present psychological well being providers and different companions. The nation can be scaling up high quality service provision at major well being care stage, by means of the coaching of clinicians to detect, diagnose and deal with psychological well being issues early.
Along with the UK’s Division of Well being and Social Care, WHO has additionally supported Ghana to reinforce the psychological well being and psychosocial help abilities of 394 personnel, to strengthen accessible help methods in faculties, at well being amenities and in communities.
“WHO is joyful to be working with the federal government to handle psychological well being service supply to advance our shared dedication of selling psychological well being as a common human proper,” says Dr Francis Kasolo, WHO Consultant to Ghana.
The continued measures complement the QualityRights Initiative, launched in 2019 to enhance high quality of care and promote the rights of individuals dwelling with psychological well being situations by means of digital and in-person coaching of psychological well being care employees. This has geared up psychological well being care staff to supply providers respectfully, by upholding the rights and dignity of purchasers.
Amoakwah notes that these measures have resulted in improved service provision for a further 1.7 million folks with psychological well being situations. “I imagine that the trainings we’re receiving, together with the e-learning course on QualityRights, have contributed to the belief we now have constructed with purchasers like Adom, motivating them to return repeatedly to our clinics,” he says.
*Identify modified to guard identification
