Breakthrough for people with mental health conditions

Adam Dokurugu from our partner, BasicNeeds-Ghana facilitating a Self-Help Group meetings with MMDAs in Ghana.

Last year Ghana Somubi Dwumadie facilitated interface meetings between leaders of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development (DSW/CD) in multiple districts of Ghana, including the Nkoranza North District of the Bono East District, to explore how to enroll people onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Following this face-to-face meeting with key officials of DSW/CD and NHIS, people with mental health conditions at Busunya in the Nkoranza North District were pleased to finally be registered by the Department.

Additionally, 46 members of SHGs from Dromankese, Yefri and Bonomanso were also registered one week after this meeting. This took place as a joint community-based exercise involving the DSW/CD and NHIS. The individuals registered with the NHIS will now be able to access health care for their physical illnesses for free. What a relief for members of SHGs in Zabzugu, Bunkprugu, Savelugu, Bawku West, Bongo, and Talensi Districts who have all been registered with the scheme!

A male participant of a training of self-help groups points to the screen while a female participant looks on.

Now we need to ensure that psychotropic medicines are also paid for by the NHIS so that people with mental health conditions registered with the Scheme can enjoy free mental health care services too.

For this to happen successfully, as well as adding mental health to the NHIS, facilities providing mental health services should be permitted to prescribe or dispense such psychotropics. I hope they should be, else the purpose of enrolment onto the NHIS, listing psychotropic medicines among the essential medicines list, and providing community-based mental health care services will be defeated.

It will be good for leaders of SHGs that have been supported to say thank you to the Director of DSW/CD and the Scheme Manager of NHIS for the initial registration of its members, indirectly asking for more members of SHGs to be registered in our collective efforts to realise inclusion.

Of course, some members are yet to be enrolled or renew their membership with the Scheme. Let us keep the collaboration alive!

This blog reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the programme or its funders.