The Alliance for Mental Health and Development has called on Government to ensure that people with mental health disorders are included in Government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. The Alliance made the call in a communique it issued after its Planning and Review Meeting in Sunyani on Wednesday, 7 July 2021.
The Alliance decried the encroachment of lands belonging to the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital by private developers, a situation which led staff of the hospital to lay down their tools in protest to the many instances of armed attacks from thugs. The communique commended Government for providing security to the hospital and called on the Lands Ministry to follow through with its decision to evict all those illegally encroaching on lands belonging to the hospital and build a fence around the hospital as a more permanent solution.
The communique also demanded the safeguarding of homeless and poor people with mental illness who are affected by the Accra decongestion exercise. It stated that a clear plan for the decongestion exercise should be published which indicates how the protection and safety of destitute and homeless people in the metropolis will be ensured as well as measures to reunite them with their families
where possible or provide them with assisted housing, food and medical care.
The Planning and Review Meeting was convened by BasicNeeds-Ghana, national convenor of the Alliance for Mental Health and Development under the auspices of the Ghana Somubi Dwumadie (Ghana Participation Programme) with funding from UK Aid. The Alliance is a national platform of CSOs, NGOs, and CBOs engaged in mental health advocacy in Ghana.
