By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, has described mental health as a major cause of disability, but incidentally, it remains one of the neglected health burdens in the country.
Backing his claim with data, the Ghana Health Service’s Director General disclosed that 41 percent of the 30 million Ghanaians are living with psychological distress, with about 16,000 suffering from severe mental illness, some of whom are on the streets.
According to him, one out of every 10 citizens presently has some form of mental disorder, saying that mental health alone costs the national economy about seven percent of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP. Dr. Kuma-Aboagye made this known at a Conference organised by the Christian Service University College.
Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye noted that even though Ghana has seen significant improvement in the healthcare indicators over the years, there are still other areas that are becoming major socio-economic burdens for the country, including mental health, which is currently costing the country about seven percent of its GDP but has not received the required national attention.
The Ghana Health Service’s Director General was delivering the Keynote Address at the opening of a two-day National Conference that brought together experts in Ghana’s health ecosystem to identify specific challenges bedeviling healthcare in the country and share ideas on workable solutions towards improving the system.
The Conference, which is on the theme: “Addressing the Increasing Health Challenges in Ghana; Exploring Diverse Perspectives”, has speakers from academia, the healthcare system, and religion, among other relevant fields, who are looking at healthcare shortfalls and proposing solutions from the perspectives of their respective areas of expertise.
The topics covered and discussed included relevant national health concerns such as illegal mining, herbal preparations, the use of agrochemicals in food production and the consequences, the rhetorical use of “Sobolo” for holistic healing in the Christendom, and the medical implications of aggressive prayers.
The President of the Christian Service University College, Professor Samuel Afrane, explained that the conference has been necessitated by the many emerging global and national health issues which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pro Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Professor Elis Owusu Dabo, mentioned poor dieting and lack of physical exercise by people as some of the major causes of increasing health problems in society.
