Ghana Somubi Dwumadie provides a strong case for more investment in disability-inclusive projects
A meeting with Advisory Group members, staff of FCDO, and Ghana Somubi Dwumadie at Evans Hotel in Accra on February 1, 2023.
Recently, I travelled to Ghana to visit Ghana Somubi Dwumadie (a four-year disability inclusion programme funded by FCDO) to discuss lessons learnt and how we can capitalise on progress made since 2020. The week before my visit, the UK International Development Committee (IDC) questioned the Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, on the adequacy and effectiveness of FCDO’s disability and inclusion rights strategy. Here are a few reflections on this.
The FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy was launched in 2022 and is a great document. It signals a clear long-term commitment from the UK government to be a leader in disability inclusion and provides a framework for supporting disability and mental health through a “twin-track approach”[1]:
1. Mainstreaming disability-inclusive approaches across all work; and
2. Targeted support to people with disabilities through disability-specific initiatives.
There have been clear steps forward since the Strategy was launched. One thing that stuck with me from the IDC questions was that 35.4% of bilateral ODA projects have a disability inclusivity element and fewer than 1% are focused on disability and inclusivity[2].
Ghana Somubi Dwumadie is one of those 1% of FCDO projects and provides a strong case for more investment in targeted support to people with disabilities.
Daniel Wate visited the Ghana programme in February 2024.
The challenges around mental health and disability services in Ghana are multifaceted and complex. Between 85% and 98% of people with mental health conditions in Ghana don’t have access to the treatment they require[3]. In some districts where the programme operates, there is a 100% treatment gap. In a context where some 20% of the population have some form of disability, this is a poor starting point.
However, what has impressed me so much about Ghana Somubi Dwumadie is that it has engaged with service delivery challenges at multiple levels, for example:
At the individual level, it has trained Community Volunteers to provide support for people.
At the community level, it has established Self-Help Groups and provided grants to CSOs tackling stigma.
At the district level, it has worked with the government to support the rollout of District Mental Health Care Plans which has the potential to increase access to services.
And at the national level, it has worked with the Ghana Mental Health Authority to address the supply of psychotropic drugs and establish the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
Some members of the Advisory Group having a chat after the meeting with Dan.
One of Ghana Somubi Dwumadie’s Advisory Group members (a group of champions and advocates for the programme) told me how she was astonished at how much the programme had accelerated the prioritisation of mental health and disability in Ghana within just a few years.
Reflecting on this, I think one of the strengths of the programme is that its engagement in political discourse and practical implementation have complimented one another. Being a dedicated mental health and disability programme has helped Ghana Somubi Dwumadie maintain a razor-sharp focus on addressing the systemic issues specific to mental health and disability.
Mainstreaming and integration of mental health and disability remain, of course, critical. However, there has been severe underinvestment in mental health and disability from global funders and domestically by most governments.
I think what programmes like Ghana Somubi Dwumadie demonstrate is that we have effective methods for addressing this and that there is an extremely high return on investment for initiatives targeting mental health and disability.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-disability-inclusion-and-rights-strategy-2022-to-2030/fcdo-disability-inclusion-and-rights-strategy-2022-to-2030-building-an-inclusive-future-for-all-a-sustainable-rights-based-approach
[2] https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/bbb5a651-c579-4236-9da4-02ed644a1f4e
[3]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60958513d5112857b480d1b3/t/616018c944a103024a178840/1633687767814/Ghana+Investment+Case_Sep+2021.pdf