As Ghana readies to mark World Mental Health Day on October 10th, Ghana Somubi Dwumadie stands united with local partners in highlighting this year's theme: ‘Mental health is a universal human right.’

Last week, the Parliament of Ghana passed the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2022, commonly referred to as the anti-witchcraft allegations Bill. This Bill is a critical cornerstone in efforts to reduce the prevalence of witchcraft allegations in Ghana. Allegations of witchcraft can have devastating consequences for women, mostly older women accused of witchcraft.

The Parliament of Ghana has passed the long-awaited Bill to proscribe witchcraft accusations, which seeks to criminalise the practice of declaring, accusing, naming, or labelling people as witches. This comes after concerted efforts by numerous stakeholders to combat the ongoing social menace of witchcraft accusations which primarily target poor, older, and widowed women.

Organisations of people with disabilities exist all around the world. They are groups that bring together people with disabilities to share their expertise and experience, empower their members, and advocate for change.

As a programme, Ghana Somubi Dwumadie has always emphasised working in partnership with our grantees, and taking supportive approaches. In particular, because we are working in the disability and mental health space, we’re especially mindful of matters of inclusion, participation and accessibility.

At Sightsavers, we believe that people with disabilities should have access to quality, inclusive health services and be able to use them without fear of stigma or discrimination. This is the driving force behind our involvement in the Ghana Somubi Dwumadie.

The Grantees’ third learning and reflection event was going to be held in-person from 28 – 30 June 2022 with every participant attending from the Northern, Upper East, Volta, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions. The planning had progressed well but less than a week to the event, everything changed.

As Team Lead on a programme, I am responsible for so much more than just the technical side of the work. I manage staff, deal with contracts, I'm overseeing our communications, our monitoring and evaluation, the list goes on and on! I'm also responsible for that sometimes elusive concept, 'leading'.

Samson Addo, Ghana Somubi Dwumadie’s Assistant Programme Manager writes in this blog about his top tips on organizing an inclusive event. Enjoy your read!

On Tuesday 28 March I started the Twitter thread #TremendousTuesday to celebrate the 5 separate programme activities taking place that day. The third year of the programme ended 31 March, and earlier that week we were already looking ahead to the fourth and final year of the programme, with sustainability as our watch-word.

Although disability and mental health conditions can affect anyone and everyone, it does not affect us all equally. People with disabilities and people with mental health conditions who are also members of other minority groups face the intersecting weight of these identities and greater marginalisation, discrimination, and injustice as a result.

Are you new to understanding user-led organisations? This post explores some of the common terms.

User-led refers to any approach guided by the needs and priorities of the people using that service. This includes meaningful consultation, engagement and improved systems for feedback and grievances in both civil society organisations and state-run services.

When the needs of persons with disabilities are considered in infrastructure planning, drawing on the principles of universal design, persons with disabilities have greater independence and access to employment, transport, health care, and other necessary services. An accessible infrastructure can take many forms: for example, ramp access to buildings, tactile strips marking safe paths for visually impaired persons, or adapted toilets with grab rails.

In this blog our Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team reflect on their experience of supporting organisations to deliver on funds received through the Evidence and Effectiveness grants.

In this blog, Ghana Somubi Dwumadie’s Leadership and Governance Adviser, Vivian Sapomaa Fiscian, explains the importance of including mental health in social protection interventions.

Ghana Somubi Dwumadie has awarded four Sustainability and Legacy grants to disabled people’s organisations and women’s rights organisations in Ghana. The awardees are expected to harness the unique contribution and strengths of small and grassroots organisations, by strengthening their capacity to bring about sustainable change in the lives of people with disabilities, including people with mental health conditions, particularly women with disabilities or mental health conditions.

The long-awaited Mental Health Review Tribunal and Visiting Committees have been inaugurated by the Mental Health Authority (MHA) in Accra. The Mental Health Review Tribunal is expected to uphold the rights of people with mental health conditions receiving mental health care.

Ghana Somubi Dwumadie has screened six short films on their COVID-19 Psychosocial Resilience Grants which showcases the work of our COVID-19 grantees. The grantees provided psychosocial support for people with disabilities, including people with mental health conditions during the pandemic, as well as to healthcare workers.

At a roundtable meeting hosted by the British High Commission on Wednesday 31st August 2022, key stakeholders committed to collaborate to end witchcraft allegations in Ghana, to address the deplorable conditions in the alleged witches camps and to safely re-integrate the alleged witches into their communities of choice.

When COVID-19 turned our country upside down, Ghanaians were unprepared, especially for the economic, emotional, and psychological toll the pandemic was to visit on them. For many, it was the fear and panic around contracting the virus. For others, it was the inability to make ends meet due to the biting restrictions, and yet for others, it was the gap in knowledge and information to keep safe while moving on with their lives. The latter was the case for many people with disabilities, including people with mental health conditions.