Mental Health Fund lack funds to operate as mental illness is on the increase.

Report by Ben LARYEA.
In spite of the rapid increase in mental illness particularly among the youth in the country, stakeholders in the mental health services have expressed concern over lack of funds to enable them to operate effectively and efficiently.
‘’Since the establishment of the Mental Health Fund with the primarily objective of supporting mental health services, research, infrastructure, patients and staffs have not received the needed funds to operate effectively and efficiently’’ the stakeholders said.
According to them, successive governments have not adequately supported mental health and have started that, the lukewarm attitude have caused a challenge in addressing mental health challenges and programs.
At an advocacy encounter with Mental Health Stakeholders in Accra Prof.Pinaman Appau the former Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of the Mental Health Authority [MHA] urged government to allow the purchase of medications and other essentials by the Authority adding that without the needed resources to will be difficult to address mental health services.
Prof. Appau added that the Mental Health Act have made some progress as some regional sub-committees have been instituted in spite of the financial difficulties in the mental health sector. For his part, the Executive Secretary of the Mental Health Association of Ghana [MEHSOG], Mr. Humphery Martey Kofie said the stakeholders in the engagement will provide a platform to help the Authority in decision taking as well as the implementation disability policies.
He said periodic stakeholders’ engagement will further allow discussions, deliberations, suggestions, exchange of ideas to identify challenges of mental health foe sustainable solutions.
The Executive Director of Basic Needs, DT. Yaro Badimak said mental health have seen some progress but the needed funding and the quality have not adequately been enhanced and however, called on government for support.
He urged government to increase the funding of mental health services to leverage Universal Health Corverage [UHC] and added that the financial support be sustainable to address the needs of the Authority and other related issues.
The advocacy engagement was organized by MEHSOG in partnership with the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisation [GFD] and the Africa Disability Institute [ADI]