The Mental Health Authority is an agency set up by an Act of Parliament, Act 846 of 2012 to oversee and regulate mental health care in Ghana. It has a mandate to propose, promote and implement policies to improve mental health delivery. The Authority since its inception has over the last four years worked to streamline the mental health delivery system by adopting a holistic approach to service delivery which emphasizes integration and community care to minimize institutionalization of care that is largely concentrated in the Southern belt of the country. To further make this holistic approach to care a reality, the MH Act makes special provision to service delivery which include the recognition and regulation of traditional and faith based healers, the recognition and respect of the rights of mentally ill and a deliberate attempt to increase the knowledge base of all stakeholders in mental health delivery. To this end, the Mental Health Authority through its Board and management is putting measures in place to ensure an effective implementation and promotion of these and several other policies that will propel mental health delivery in Ghana into a first class health delivery system that will become a model for emulation in the sub-region and the world at large. Mental disorders affect nearly 12 percent of the world’s population – about 450 million or one out of every four people around the world – will experience a mental illness that will require diagnosis and treatment. WHO statistics for 2002 showed that 154 million people globally suffered from depression, which is a form of mental illness. According to WHO, mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which people realize their own potential, can cope with normal life stresses, can work productively, and can contribute to their community. It is estimated that of the 27.9million people living in Ghana, 820,000 are suffering from a severe mental disorder and a further 2.7million are suffering from a moderate to mild mental disorder. Like in many other parts of the world treatments rates are low. Statistics in Ghana indicates a treatment rate for the whole country of only 40,354 people contributing to a treatment gap of 98% of the total population expected to have a mental disorder. There is now more than ever, an urgent need to make mental health a global priority and thus ameliorate the terrible effects of mental disorders in our populations. Over the years, mental health services in Ghana have and still lack human and financial resources. More funding is needed to promote mental health to increase people’s awareness of the issue.
