Towards building an inclusive COVID-19 response in Ghana
Peter Badimak Yaro is the Executive Director of BasicNeeds-Ghana
The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has altered life and human interaction, compared to what we normally know and practice. While we gradually adjust ourselves to what is now widely referred to as the ‘new normal’, it is important to consider that COVID-19 has created one of the most anxious global experiences we have witnessed in recent times. Anxiety and depression are on the rise, with some people requiring professional support to get through this difficult time.
Persons with existing or emerging mental health needs, and their families, now deserve more focused attention more than ever before. Some experts even believe that the psychological impact of COVID-19 may far outweigh the physical health and economic impacts of the pandemic and the World Health Organisation has indicated they could affect much of the world’s population.
The CEO of the Mental Health Authority, Dr. Akwasi Osei, has warned that “everyone is vulnerable to mental health problems.” Apart from anxiety and depression, these also include stress and loneliness, which may also lead to an increase in harmful alcohol and drug use, domestic violence, and as some fear, suicidal behaviour. Here in Ghana, unfortunately, there are already reports of survivors of COVID-19 being stigmatised by their communities, which negatively affects their recovery.
The pandemic has significantly affected people with existing psychological issues, potentially worsening their condition as some of the national protocols regarding hygiene, physical distancing, mobility, and patient referral have, inadvertently, made it difficult for some mental health service users to access necessary treatment services.
Dr. Akwasi Osei also indicated that “closed settings like psychiatric hospitals act as incubators for the virus” and has advocated for measures to allow clients of psychiatric hospitals to easily access suitable COVID-19 treatment in a non-discriminatory manner.
For mental health self-help group members, there are concerns about how they have been coping during COVID-19. Their inability to access regular care, benefit from the support of their peers, meet regularly or visit each other has significantly increased their levels of stress and anxiety during this period. The Disability Rights Director of Human Rights Watch, Shantha Rau Barriga, therefore believes that government’s response to the outbreak “…is a moment for the government to ensure that people with disabilities are included in the COVID-19 response. People with mental health conditions deserve no less than others.”
The Ghana Somubi Dwumadie (Ghana Participation Programme), which is a consortium of non-state actors working to contribute to improve mental health and disability in Ghana and funded with UK aid from the British people, believes that this is a unique moment for government to show commitment and ensure that persons living with mental health conditions are adequately supported in COVID-19 response initiatives.
Healthcare workers are another group experiencing high levels of stress and may need ongoing mental health support as they have been under immense pressure due to a surge in care demands, risk of infection, and shortages of some basic medical supplies and equipment. Some of them have had to isolate themselves from their families to keep their families safe.
Even though the Ghana Health Service has issued guidelines for healthcare workers undergoing quarantine, self-isolation can still be a painfully stressful ordeal that leads to loneliness and possible stigmatisation due to the association with COVID-19.
In recognition of these difficulties, associations of medical and health professionals have called for Ghanaians not to stigmatise those who have gone through treatment and are now free of the virus, and have called for increased attention to the welfare of their members. The economic relief packages put in place by government for health workers are welcome, and more can be done for their mental health and psychosocial needs. Health care workers have been doing an amazing job, and we all need to remember that they deserve rest and support, as we all do.
In the coming months and even years, the psychological impacts of COVID-19 will become more apparent. As the crisis is still unfolding, many people may be in survival mode and are trying to cope. But as restrictions ease and life goes back to normal, it remains to be seen how everyone affected by the virus will deal with the collective trauma. As the number of people who have contracted COVID-19 around the world rises, governments are working hard to stem the spread of infection to safely return their countries to some form of normalcy, while protecting the health and wellbeing of their citizens and stimulating economic recovery. The Government of Government and health authorities must be commended for their responsiveness and proactivity during this crisis period. But they must also ensure that their COVID-19 responses seriously consider people’s current and ongoing mental health and psychological support service (MHPSS) needs.
The government’s COVID-19 response presents an opportunity to fully implement the Mental Health Law (Act 846, 2012) in order to make Ghana’s mental health system robust and responsive, and enable it to address the mental health needs of citizens. Even though eight years have passed since the Mental Health Law was passed, provisions such as the Mental Health Fund, Visiting Committees and the Mental Health Tribunal, which could have increased the resilience and responsiveness of the mental health system, have not yet been implemented.
Making these happen will be a great boost to mental health and make the mental health sector of the nation what it should be – responding to the needs of most of the population. The time to act is now.
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Kindly reproduced with permission of BasicNeeds-Ghana, a version of this piece also appeared in the Daily Graphic