Stakeholders in the mental health sector in the Northern Region have called on the government to prioritise and complete the region’s first psychiatric facility under the Agenda 111 programme, warning that the absence of a specialised mental health institution continues to hinder access to critical care.
The call was made during a community dialogue on social protection organised by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection at Zoggu in the Nanton District.
Speaking on the sidelines to Citi News, Clinical Psychologist and lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Dr. Peter Mintir Amadu, said the completion of the psychiatric facility had become urgent given the increasing cases of substance abuse and mental health challenges among young people in the region.
According to him, the Northern Region currently lacks a government-run rehabilitation centre, making it difficult for individuals battling mental health and substance abuse disorders to access specialised treatment and support services.
“The government needs to prioritise the Agenda 111 facility which has stalled considering the fact we don’t have a government-facilitated rehabilitation centre in the northern part of Ghana,” he said.
Dr. Amadu stressed that while infrastructure remains important, building the capacity of mental health professionals and frontline healthcare workers is equally critical in addressing the growing challenge of drug abuse.
He called for increased investment in mental health services at the community level, including the resourcing of CHPS compounds, district hospitals and polyclinics to improve early detection and referrals.
“At the grassroots level what we need is advocacy and resourcing of government facilities like the CHPS Compounds, District Hospitals and Polyclinics to be able to identify signs and do proper referral. We want more capacity to be built at the District Hospitals where we have a lot of mental health officers to be able to support individuals who are referred there,” he stated.
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