Stop the labelling of the Ghanaians with Mental Health problems as “Lunatics”!

I wonder what the Director of Ghana Mental Health Services and Minister of Health would think, seeing such headlines in our newspapers as attached www.ghanaweb.com: General News of Friday, 13 April 2007
Mentally ill people still roam Accra streets

Accra, April 13, GNA - Prior to the climax of the 50th anniversary celebrations on March 6, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) decided to embark on an exercise to rid the city of the mentally ill on the streets. How could Ghana get rid of this vulnerable group among us? Could Ghana or Africa get rid of people with mental disturbance on its streets?

Are there ways of working in partnership with the Mental Health Service and come up with alternative way of channelling the energies of these vulnerable group other than getting rid of them? As highlighted by Mr. John Appiah, Public Relations Officer of the AMA, the exercise could not come on because the Ghana@50 Secretariat, which had promised to provide some 800,000 million cedis for a clean up and the exercise to rid the city of lunatics, failed to do so.

This is when accountability comes in and the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat needs to be hold to account. It appears everything was set by the government to be responsible for the exercise, which included AMA, Ministry of Health and Department of Social Welfare. Did the Ghana@50 Secretariat inform the President that he needed more funds for the given job?

This exercise is even more significant to Ghana than the celebrations of Ghana @50 as the problems are still staring at us and discrediting our country?

Why I agree with Mr Appiah with regards to all his concerns raised, how could he call the mentally disturbed group within our communities’ as lunatics? “Lunatics” we could all head towards that way in a given time. Nine million cedis is not enough for the exercise and they are quite right in demanding that, the Ministry of Finance should give them more money for the given exercise. Why are people in key positions failing these vulnerable group within our society? We were happy to spend so much of importing brand new vehicles for Diplomats coming into our country for the jubilee celebrations, which was good. On the other hand, could we not have leased the vehicles from neighbouring countries and focused on the strategically implementing on long-term objectives for the plight for our vulnerable group now termed as “lunatics” in our society?

The Public Affairs Officer of Ghana@50 Secretariat, Mr Henry Okyne reported that before the jubilee celebrations, the Secretariat gave AMA nine billion cedis for sanitation exercises, which included the confinement of the mentally ill on the streets of Accra. It was therefore unable to allocate more money for that exercise. Did the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat really estimate the cost this exercise?

I would refer the Secretariat for Ghana @50, Director of AMA and the Minister of Tourism to the attached Maslow Hierarchy of needs. In which category do they see the vulnerable group with our society?

Maslow Hierarchy of needs
Needs level General rewards Organisational factors

Physiological
Food, water, sex, sleep Pay
Pleasant working conditions
Cafeteria
Safety Safety, security, stability, protection Safe working conditions
Company benefits
Job security
Social Love, affection, belonginess Cohesive work group
Friendship supervision
Professional associations
Esteem Self esteem, self respect.presitage, status Social recognition
Job title
High status job
Feedback from the job itself

Self actualisation

Growth, advancement, creativity Challenging job
Opportunities for creativity
Achievement in work
Advancement in the organisation
Mullins, L J., (1999) 5th ed. Management and Organisational Behaviour,

Would it be fair to say that in Ghana about 60% of the population are still at the first stage of this hierarchy? How could we move on to the next stage?

Our system must acknowledge that, the plight of these vulnerable group must be taken as cause for concern. Could fair to say that it is poverty that has caused so many people to end up in mental health hospitals.
Our system may be failing its people and hence people are falling through the net, as there is no safety catch in place within it. Or is there any?

Let’s stop the labelling of these vulnerable group within our society and rather focus on integrating these group with vocational and creative skills. For example pottery, art and craft , craving, weaving , beating of drums and dancing or other occupational alternatives. Their porducts could be sold locally, nationally or internationally. Our tourist centres could also be venues for selling these porducts.
Money generated could be channelled into self help project which would be patient led. Another innovative ideas would for the patients to use some of the omney to build a multipurpose recreational centres for themselves.

Indeed, these group ideally need a care package that would empower them not only to part of the community but also to contribute to the economic of their community.

I would also recommend that, the Ministry of Health do invite mental health workers particularly from the U.K and Sweden, Denmark and other countries with a track record to share best practice with Ghana. It could be arrrange as a health package hoiliday so that both the health professionals exchange ideas. This would enlightened our mental health nurses with alternative therapies. For example, in some countries mental health is integrate with local business community, catering, hairdressing, gardening and others thus to empowering the patients.

Farming is also an excellent way of relieving stress and focusing on basic things and nature. The medications that these vulnerable group t need a high intake of good nutrition but not just kenkey, fish and pepper or beans and gari plus oil. This is why it is so important to integrate other alternatives. For xample, if the patients are able to grow vegetables and others, then there is pleasure-taking pride of their achievements.. In this way, patients would be fed with their own grown organic food stuffs, and eat in abundance thus happy enough to be creative.

On a different level, psychiatric hospitals could hold competitions for the best farmer award day. Or best basket weaver or kente award etc. These are all incentives and certificates that could be given to motivate and boost these patients of their self worth and esteem.

Taking these measures seriously would stop our vulnerable group roaming our streets rather than locking them up in confinements of psychiatric hospitals. Who knows whom the next patient would be? It could be you or I being labelled as lunatics by our system tomorrow!

Perhaps weekly health education of the general public would help raise awareness and the seriousness of mental health.

The facts are, any of us the so-called “Well Stable Ghanaians” could easily falls into this category. The Director of Mental Health Services and the the community may be to work together to share to provide the best care for these vulnerable group. We need to consider providing a counselling service attached to all our psychiatric hospital for the carer and families of these group.

It is about time we tackle the plight people with mental disturbance within our society and stop the labelling exercise.

Which of us could stand tall and tap their chest to say that yes, they have reached their self-actualisation stage, based on what Maslow expects from people who have made it in life.

It is only 1 % of our population who would proudly raise their hands up. The rest of us could easily fall below this mark. Who are we to label our fellow Ghanaian in this predicament as ” lunatics”? Are we that ignorant?