Pass Mental Health Bill- Dr Kertesz (Spread)

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative in Ghana, Dr Daniel Kertesz, has urged the government to pass the Mental Health Bill as quickly as possible.
He said the bill, when passed, would promote and provide humane mental health care, including prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, in the least restrictive environment.
This was in a message he delivered in Accra on Saturday at the launch of World Mental Health Day. The theme for celebration was, “Mental Health in Primary Health Care — Enhancing and Promoting Mental Health”.
World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on October 10 to raise public awareness of mental health issues.
Dr Kertesz said since one out of eight of all people was likely to suffer from mental disorders at some point in time, there was the need for governments the world over to have interest in mental health.
He pointed out that people suffering from mental illness could, with proper care, psychological assistance and medication, begin to lead healthy lives, even where resources were scarce.
Giving some facts on mental health, he said half of all mental disorders began before the age of 14, adding that one in every five of the world’s children and adolescents was estimated to have mental disorders, with similar types of disorders being reported across cultures.
“Depression, for example, is characterised by sustained sadness and loss of interest, along with behavioural and physical symptoms,” he explained.
In an address, the Adabraka Atukpai Mantse, Nii Tetteh Adjabeng 1, said depression, which was common, particularly in women after childbirth, should be recognised in the community by primary care physicians for effective treatment to begin.
He said the country could not always wait till such cases were seen at the tertiary level at the psychiatric hospitals which were themselves congested.
Nii Adjabeng said looking at media reports, suicide was becoming common these days, adding that substance abuse was more like a daily phenomenon and pointed out there was the dire need to have the two detected early and treated.
“Alcohol, it must be noted, is a common cause of mental illness and our youth need to stay away from it. This is particularly so among women who are pregnant, as it can affect the survival of their unborn children. Even if the children survive, the chances that they will live to be healthy, productive adults will be seriously impaired,” he noted.
For her part, the specialist in charge of the Pantang Hospital, Dr Anna Puklo-Dzadey, said often there were misunderstanding and misinformation concerning the nature of mental illness that made others fear people with mental illness and also looked at them with suspicion, which led to stigma and discrimination.
She said the celebration of World Mental Health Day was meant to make people recognise the nature of mental illness, raise awareness and appreciate that everybody was at risk.
The President of the Ghana Mental Health Association, Rev Godson King Akplaku, also added his voice to the call on the government to pass the Mental Health Bill so that it could address the issue of human rights abuse, among other issues.
Messages were read from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), BasicNeeds, a non-governmental organisation which deals with people affected by mental illness, as well as the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB).