The Nkoranza North District Assembly in the Bono East Region has assisted 10 people with mental health conditions in the district to access medication and facilitate their treatment processes.
According to Mr Stephen Awiti, the Nkoranza North Mental Health Coordinator, each of the patients received GHS 1,000.00 from the District Assembly to buy drugs and cater for some of their basic needs.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Busunya, the district capital, Mr Awiti said the money was released from the three per cent Disability Fund of the Assembly and commended the Assembly for the assistance.
He said the beneficiaries were picked from Busunya, Fiema and Bono Manso, and worried that many of the people with mental health conditions in the area could not afford to buy their drugs and appealed for more support for them.
Nonetheless, Mr Awiti commended MIHOSO International Foundation, a non-profit organisation for its continuous assistance towards the upkeep of the persons with mental illnesses in the area, saying an economic livelihood project implemented by the organisation had empowered some of the patients economically.
He said through the intervention of the organisation, some of the patients were now engaged in viable economic activities, which had enabled them to fend for themselves and their families.
“The support from the Assembly even came because of an advocacy project the organisation implemented in the district”, Mr Awiti stated, and expressed the hope that the Assembly would continue to support the patients to access medication for their healing.
Throwing more light on the project, Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the Chief Executive Officer of MIHOSO, in-charge of operations told the GNA in another interview that some of the District Assemblies neglected people with mental health conditions in the disbursement of their
disability fund.
Hence the need to intensify public advocacy for the assemblies to understand and appreciate the need to support persons with mental problems as well.
Besides Nkoranza North, Mr Benarkuu said the project implementation was extended to Nkoranza South and Kintampo North Municipalities and Kintampo South District, saying extensive engagements between the NGO, disability groups, Department of Social Welfare, the Social Services sub-committees of the assemblies had been done.
Last year, the Kintampo South District Assembly also supported about eight people with mental health illness to access medication and buy drugs, he said, and commended the assemblies for the support, and expressed the hope that other assemblies would also emulate.
Source: GNA
