THE mental health situation in the Northern Region is said to have taken a nosedive due to a number of factors.
Some of the factors include inadequate psychiatry personnel, psychiatric health posts, stigmatisation of both patients and psychiatric personnel in the region as well as a lack of funds and medical equipment.
There are only six community psychiatry nurses in the region, with more than a half of them almost at the retiring age. The region also lacks a specialist in the field of psychiatry.
Furthermore, most of the district hospitals in the region do not have psychiatric units except Tamale, Yendi and Walewale hospitals.
It is significant to note that these are the major factors that militate against the region’s quest to support the increasing number of the population that are suffering from neuro-psychiatric conditions and severe mental illnesses.
Undoubtedly, there is a correlation between a healthy population and increased productivity. Most of the mental-ill persons who have been rehabilitated and integrated into the society have in one way or the other contributed their quota to the accelerated development of the region. That is imperative for stakeholders in the mental health sector to evolve effective strategies to address mental health problems in the region.
In March, last year, for instance, Basic Needs, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), provided GH¢36,234 to train 10 stabilised mental-ill persons in Tamale to acquire skills in hairdressing, weaving, dressmaking, blacksmithing, bicycle repairs, block moulding and carpentry. There are indications that the 10 stabilised mental-ill persons are doing well as they are currently fending for themselves.
A total of 4,200 stabilised persons with primary care givers have been targeted by Basic Needs and its partners to ensure that they live a normal life in the years ahead.
Heartwarmingly, the European Union has provided a total amount of 750,000 Euros to undertake a project dubbed: “Ensuring secure livelihoods for poor people with mental illness, epilepsy and primary carers”.
Although Basic Needs has over the years done a lot to ensure that mental-ill persons acquired skills to make them self-sufficient, a lot more needs to be done to address the numerous problems facing those people.
As a strategy to help solve mental health challenges in the region, Basic Needs recently organised a forum in Tamale aimed at building a network of organisations that would support mental health work in the area.
The participants were drawn from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), civil society groups and NGOs working to improve the lot of the vulnerable and the marginalised in society.
According to the Country Programme Manager of Basic Needs, Mr Peter Yaro, the prevalence rate of mental cases in the region was high.
He stated that there were 18,208 severe cases of mental illness in the region, while 182,080 people suffered from neuro-psychiatric conditions at any given time.
He said 455,201 suffer from neuro-psychiatric conditions in their lifetime in the region, which has a population of 1,820,806, according to the 2000 Population and Housing Census.
The entire country itself has a big challenge as figures by Basic Needs showed that there are less than three active psychiatrists in the country with only three psychiatric hospitals.
About 234,000 people in the entire country are suffering from severe mental illness, while more than two million people suffer from neuro-psychiatric conditions at any given time.
In the wake of all these challenges, some NGOs and representatives of civil society groups in the region have suggested to health authorities to make the psychiatric sector more attractive to ensure that more personnel venture into that area.
The organisations have also entreated the Ghana Health Service to strengthen some community health structures in the districts to take good care of mental-ill persons.
It is refreshing to note that over the years Basic Needs has made significant strides in solving problems related to mental illness and epilepsy in the country.
According to Mr Yaro, 16,024 people are receiving psychiatric treatment, while 12,257 are engaged in productive work and 3,603 are earning regular income nationwide.
The Community Projects Co-ordinator of Basic Needs, Mr Yahaya Adam Dokurugu, stated that his outfit was building alliances of civil society organisations, including individuals and professionals to partner with self-help groups of mental-ill people in rights advocacy and reducing poverty among them.
He expressed the hope that Basic Needs would support the improvement of psychiatric units in health facilities in the districts and regions.
No comments:
Post a Comment