As part of their mental health advocacy activities to commemorate World Mental Health Day (WMHD), Total Life Enhancement Centre GH (TOLEC GH), a service provider in mental health and psychological services working in the Northern Region, interacted with the pupils and staff of Dakpema Special School in Tamale.
The October 10 interaction formed part of a partnership to support the school in its drive towards achieving inclusive education to ensure holistic development of its pupils.
Mental Health Day is celebrated on 10th October every year as an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health.
This year’s Day was under the theme, “Mental health is a universal human right”.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 970 million people were living with mental disorder globally in 2019 with anxiety and depressive disorders being the most common. Ten percent of Ghana’s estimated population of about 34.2 million, are said to suffering mental disorders with depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder being the most common. Other types of mental disorders include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, drug addiction and eating disorders, among others.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Mintir Amadu, who is a Clinical Psychologist, stated that their presence at Dakpema Special School was also to make the theme of this year’s celebration real in the pupils.
He said since 2016, TOLEC GH had been undertaking advocacy activities on Mental Health Day.
He observed that not all people were able to enjoy mental health as a universal right as envisaged by the theme because mental services and trained personnel in most cases were not readily available for all persons regardless of their conditions, to enjoy the universal right hence their decision to partner the school to avail them their expertise and services.
He said they have dedicated their activities this year to people with special needs having already interacted with the Ghana National Association for the Deaf and the School for the Deaf in Savelugu.
Mr. Amadu educated the gathering about the saying, “mental health is a universal health right” with emphasis on four international and local legal frameworks that underpin mental health.
Firstly, he said in 1948, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which recognizes the right to health, including mental health, as a fundamental human right.
Secondly, he mentioned that the Constitution of the WHO explicitly states that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition”. He stressed that this also include mental health.
Thirdly, he said the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006, recognizes the rights of persons with disabilities to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, including mental health.
He said the overall aim of Ghana’s Mental Health Act of 2012 (ACT 846), was to ensure the rights and quality treatment for persons with mental disorder in line with the 1992 Constitution which include all the rights to health, including mental health.
Hence, he said their objective is to ensure that people get access to mental health services when they need it, adding that their target is the youth and women.
In this regard, he announced that they will provide quarterly psychological services to the pupils under a leaner centred programme and also adopt the school for their advocacy activities to highlight the importance of mental health and the need to prioritise it.
As part of the benefit package, packs of soft drinks, biscuits, spaghetti and rice, were also donated to the school through the support of Supra Pharma Limited, a partner of TOLEC GH.
In a welcome address earlier, the Headmistress, Madam Christiana Yeyeh, lamented that in spite of the school’s location in the heart of the Tamale metropolis, many residents hardly know about its existence and the fact that they also have pupils with special needs among them at Dakpema cluster of schools which also comprises a kindergarten, primary and Junior High Schools.
She used the opportunity to highlight some of their challenges as regards enrolment, infrastructure and transportation and appealed to benevolent individuals and groups for urgent support to help make the school learner-friendly.
She explained that because of their mixed nature, enrolment is not encouraging as a result of the stigma and fear by parents that their children will develop intellectual disability if they enroll them in the cluster of schools. She debunked the notion that the conditions of the pupils with special needs is contagious or infectious and appealed to parents to enroll their children in their schools.
The Headmistress added that some of the pupils in the special school are orphans and live far away hence they are unable to attend school regularly because they cannot afford the cost of transportation. Hence, she said a donation of a mini bus will be very much appreciated.
