The battle against the stigmatization and discrimination of the African mentally challenged cannot be solely fought by mental health advocates based in Africa alone. They need the backing of public-spirited individuals and activists based in the Diaspora as well.

The noble cause which in most cases is a thankless job needs the support of both foreigners and Africans who are resident abroad.

Clubhouse Ghana – an NGO founded by Monalisa Brookshire, a Ghanaian based in the United States is giving back to the Ghanaian Society by building a skills acquisition and community-oriented rehabilitation centre in Ghana which will be open to the public next year.

As reported by Ghanaweb.com, thirteen percent of the Ghanaian population have a mental health challenge and this health issue hasn’t been adequately addressed by the government and society due to ignorance, poor funding, spiritual connotations, misconceptions, stigmatization, indifference, negligence etc.

Mrs Brookshire said that the Ghanaian mentally challenged who roamed the streets would be taken off from there and rehabilitated. She divided the categories of the mentally challenged into two – the functional and dysfunctional. The functional are those who have been assessed by competent psychiatrists to still be able to help themselves and lead independent lives. They will be trained on a trade and guided to live normal lives. The dysfunctional are those who cannot help themselves and would be committed to the institution that would be built next year for the rest of their lives with adequate medications, clothing and food.

The functional will then be reintegrated into the society as the stigmatization in Ghana is still very high. Once a person has been admitted into a psychiatric institution, it is usually difficult to get one’s life back in terms of getting a job as the society is very hostile to the mentally challenged.

Many Ghanaians have lost plum jobs and their place in the society due to relapses, inadequate medication and the stigma attached to publicly been open in the workplace about the health challenge which would enable the patients have their time and financial resources to go for their medical appointments.

The budgetary allocation to mental health in Ghana is extremely meagre and is unable to adequately support rehabilitation centres and facilities and so very little has been achieved over the years.

Section 80 of the Mental Health Act 2012 talks about the establishment of a mental health fund to provide financial support to the mentally challenged but unfortunately it only exists on paper as there are still many of them who roam the streets naked, homeless and hungry.

Clubhouse Ghana has to its credit in being the first NGO to establish a rehabilitation centre in West Africa and there are Clubhouse franchised rehabilitation centres in Uganda and South Africa. The implication of this is that Ghana would be the first West African country to be granted funding, US resources and World Mental Health Federation Support from Clubhouse International in Manhattan New York to establish a centre with a guiding business model.

This initiative is highly commendable as there is still ability in disability. There are many successful businessmen, politicians, professionals and sportspeople who are mentally challenged but who didn’t let their ailment stop them from achieving success and fully living up to their God given potential.

It is good that these functional clients would be taught how to stand on their two feet which would go a long way to boost their battered self-esteem.

This NGO will most definitely change the narrative as to the battle against the stigmatization of the Ghanaian mentally challenged. We hope that mental health advocates would use their influence to get the government to enact and faithfully implement public policies that would ensure that the mentally challenged get a fair deal. The NGOs cannot do this great task alone; they need the support of the government through the creation of the enabling environment by way of legislations for them to function more effectively.

Clubhouse Ghana’s initiative is a highly commendable one and their planned activity in Ghana would be a soothing balm to the emotionally distraught Ghanaian mentally challenged.

Well-done Mrs. Brookshire for this wonderful move and the project will immortalize her as she has already left her name in gold and her imprints in the sands of time!

SOURCE: https://africavoiceshq.com/2022/06/06/clubhouse-ghana-gives-succour-to-the-ghanaian-mentally-challenged-by-tony-ademiluyi/