The Mental Health Authority (MHA) of Ghana has launched a new publication on ‘’Mental Health Terminologies in Akan’’. The event which took place in Accra was an initiative spearheaded by the Authority as a critical contribution to the growth and development of mental health care in the country.
The launch brought together stakeholders within the health sector, the mental health fraternity and the media.
The Chief Executive of MHA, Prof. Pinaman Appau in her speech, expressed that, ‘‘this vital publication emerged from a pressing need to bridge the gap in mental health communication; thus, effectively expressing mental health terms in the local language’’.
Prof. Appau emphasized that, the absence of adequate expression in the local languages has posed a significant challenge in communicating with clients, as health officers grapple to find appropriate local terms to address the actual conditions brought forth by clients.
She expressed that, ‘‘In addressing the crucial problem, a team of mental health workers were assigned and embarked on a methodology and assembled terms that were commonly used in the clinical practice and public education on mental health.
The process included the assembling of mental health practitioners who are fluent in Akan (Asante Twi) to find the appropriate terms in the local language.
The document also went through the scrutiny of the Department of Linguistics of the University of Ghana. A key personality and speaker at the event from the Department, Prof. Ohene Agyakum who was instrumental in the execution of the project spoke on the reason of the chosen Akan dialect and factors safeguarding areas that were considered for the translation.
Pfof. Agyakum explained that the Akan language was selected first due to the higher population of Ghanaian who speak the language as comared to the other local languages. Justifying further on the selection of the Asante Twi dialect, the language professor gave a statistics of the tribes who speak akan which mainly include the Fanti, Akuapem and Asante. He presented the population who speak each dialect, including the one commonly used by the media and proved that, the Asante Twi was the mostly used.
On the factors that were considered during the translation process, Prof. Agyakum mentioned eight important guarding principles areas which served as a benchmark which included; appropriateness, learnability, brevity, economy, harmony, user-friendly, precision and inter-nationality. ‘We were very sensitive to stigma and discrimination and therefore avoided stigmatising words and expressions; we also made conscious efforts to destigmatise existing stigmatising words’’.
The Chairperson of the occasion, Mrs Estelle Appiah in her opening remark said one of the key objectives that drove the project was to dispel the myth and misunderstanding surrounding mental health. Mrs Estelle stated that ‘in a society where stigma and misconceptions often shroud conversations about mental health, the translation of these terminologies into Akan and other languages is a significant stride towards inclusitivity and understanding.
Two personalities whose efforts contributed greatly to the fulfillment were awarded for their good work done. They were, the former Chief Executive of the Mental Health Authority, Prof. Akwasi Osei and Professor Ohene Agyakum of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ghana.
The book is the first in a series of translations into various local languages and embodies a concerted effort to make the conversation about mental health not only universal but deeply rooted in our culture. This is because, the Mental Health Act 2012 (Act 846) embraces spiritual and herbal treatment of mental disorder.
Writer: Nhyira Kwabi
