Benefits of investing in mental health discussed at high-level roundtable

Attendees at roundtable on investment in mental health, hosted at the British High Commission

A high-level roundtable on the benefits of greater investment in mental health was hosted by the British High Commission as the concluding event marking World Mental Health Day 2021 celebrations in Ghana.

Attendees at the roundtable identified a number of key challenges facing Ghana. In particular, it was noted that nearly 7% of GDP is lost due to psychological distress in Ghana, compared with 4% of GDP lost to malaria. Despite this, Ghana’s spending on mental health is extremely low, roughly just 1.4% of total health expenditure, meaning that the vast majority of people with mental health conditions cannot access treatment. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic is contributing to rising levels of depression, anxiety, harmful alcohol and drug use, self-harm and suicidal behaviours, so it is critical to ensure that mental health support is available to all who need it.

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day was ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’, and unfortunately, how true this remains in Ghana – people with mental health conditions are stigmatised, and mental health is under-resourced. So, there is a clear need to address and reverse these inequalities. In addition to the rights-based argument for greater investment, there is also growing evidence that investing in mental health can lead to significant financial and social benefits for Ghana.

The call for greater investment and funding to mental health is premised on the fact that financing mental health has positive catalytic effects on:

·         strengthening Ghana’s poverty reduction and economic growth efforts,

·         improving population health and reducing the burden on Ghana’s health system,

·         supporting Ghana’s efforts to achieve Universal health Coverage (UHC)

In particular, the investment case for mental health demonstrates that there is a significant return on investment for mental health including:

·         up to 2 cedis for every cedi invested in treatment of schizophrenia

·         up to 5 cedis for every cedi invested in treatment of anxiety

·         up to 7 cedis for every cedi invested in treatment of depression

Greater investment would mean for example, availability of funds to address the mental health impact of COVID-19, more training of healthcare workers in mental health, improved access to psychotropic medicines, community level mental health services, and importantly, the establishment of the Mental Health Review Tribunal and Mental Health Visiting Committees, strengthening the Regional Mental Health Sub-Committees, and, incorporating mental health on to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency speaking at the roundtable

Indeed, attendees at the roundtable included the CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Lydia Dsane-Selby, who committed to consider the modalities of adding mental health services to the NHIS benefits package. Dr Patrick Aboagye, Director General of Ghana Health Service, made a call to address capacity gaps in mental healthcare service delivery. Mr Kwabena Akandoh, Member of Parliament for Juaboso Constituency, urged attendees to engage with budget hearings in Parliament, while Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, committed to raise the ongoing lack of an operational governing Board for the Mental Health Authority (MHA). Currently the lack of a Board for MHA is keenly felt, as key mental health structures such as the Mental Health Review Tribunal, Mental Health Visiting Committees, and Regional Mental Health Sub-Committees cannot be inaugurated without the Board in place, and yet, their establishment is essential to prevent human rights abuses such as those experienced by one of the speakers at the roundtable who described being bound and chained, and accused of witchcraft due to her mental health condition.

“I was sent to prayer camps where I was treated badly. I was made to fast, chained and beaten. I faced serious stigma from my family and community; my marriage eventually broke down because of my condition. I am a member and chairperson of the Camp2 Self Help Group at Teshie. I believe that having a committee that will regularly visit prayer camps will reduce the abuses that go on in the camps and help to protect persons with mental health conditions who visit these prayer camps” (a service user supported by BasicNeeds-Ghana)

Our programme, Ghana Somubi Dwumadie (Ghana Participation Programme), is a four-year disability programme in Ghana, with a specific focus on mental health. This programme is funded with UK aid from the UK government. We have worked closely with MHA and a dedicated working group, many of whom were represented at the roundtable, to develop an evidence-based investment case for mental health in Ghana. We are delighted to have been able to support the British High Commission to host the roundtable and will be following up with attendees on key outtakes from the meeting including:

·         continuing to promote the positive benefits of investing in mental health

·         advocating for the rapid inauguration of the MHA Board

·         engaging with key stakeholders on adding mental health to the NHIS benefits package

You can read the full investment case here: investment case

You can read some press coverage on the investment case here: Graphic Online

You can watch our team being interviewed on TV3 about the investment case here: Youtube