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Forty-one percent of Ghanaians have psychological distress, according to the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.
Speaking at a two-day national conference on addressing health challenges in Ghana organized by Christian Service University College in Kumasi, he said one in every 10 Ghanaians has a mental disorder.
While speaking on the theme: “Addressing the increasing health challenges in Ghana: Exploring diverse perspectives”, he said some 16,000 Ghanaians have a severe mental illness and are on the streets.
The country, he said, has only 10 and 19 percent of its staffing needs for psychiatrists and clinical psychologists respectively.
To increase access and mitigate its impact, he said the service with support from its development partners has embarked on capacity-building programs to promote awareness of mental health issues.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the service will continue to build the capacity of private health providers to identify, manage and refer common mental health, neurological and substance-use disorders, using the life cause approach.
He also called for the need to incorporate mental health services into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye also says efforts are underway to replenish vaccines used for routine immunization of babies from birth to at least 18 months, which are currently in short supply.
Health facilities in parts of the country have been experiencing vaccine shortages, with no solution in place. Parliament has already summoned Health Minister Kweku Agyeman Manu and other stakeholders to update the House on the situation.
Reacting to the development however the Ghana Health Service Boss attributed the situation to the cedi depreciation but says the vaccines have been procured and would be available in the next three weeks.
By uniquenewsgh.com
