These images were taken whilst working for a British mental health organisation in Ghana throughout
October and November 2009.
According to the World Health Organisation, Ghana has a critical shortage of nurses and doctors. Many Ghanaian psychiatrists and mental health nurses have left the country to work in the UK & USA.
Around 98% of mentally ill people in Ghana opt to attend prayer camps or traditional healers in order to get better. However many go untreated.
The Pastors and 'healers' at these prayer camps shackle and chain their patients in order to control their behaviour. Patients with severe depression or schizophrenia are often beaten and starved by ‘healers’ to try to get rid of supposed ‘evil spirits’.
Currently Ghana's state psychiatric service consists of just 1500 in patient beds in 3 large mental hospitals on the coast and 40 beds across the regional hospitals and private clinics.
There are a few psychiatric nurses who are able to provide community services but their training stopped some time ago.
There are only 5 psychiatrists for 20 million people, whereas in the USA / UK there is an estimated 7000 for the same population.
To protect the mentally ill against human rights abuse and to improve state services. Ghanaian health professions and advisor's have drafted a new mental health Bill to replace their outmoded one.
The new Act will control the treatment of mental illness even by traditionalist and it hopes to vastly improve the government psychiatric services. But its passage through the parliament, which began in 2006, has been severely held up.
The last incoming government pledged to enact the Bill, but Ghana is still waiting.
shocking, amazing photos
shocking, amazing photos
It’s not a case of
It’s not a case of misdiagnosis so much as just a lack of trained professionals and hospitals to look after the increasing number of those suffering in the country. There is an understanding of these conditions and their respective treatments but a huge lack care resources available. I will include more images to this set soon including those of a man suffering a mental illness and allowed to roam the community with his arms and feet in irons so that he cannot cause harm to other members of the community. The spiritual side of treatment is still very strong here and self appointed Pastors and village priests charge heavily to cure ‘those possessed’ some of whom are suffering from substance abuse. After being chained to a post for a week or so these people become more coherent and are released only to return once they have access again to drugs and alcohol. This is seen as the work of the devil.
Incarcerated?! It sounds like
Incarcerated?! It sounds like the government aren't just lacking resources, but also fundamental education on mental health. I simply cannot believe that epilepsy sufferers are misdiagnosed as being mentally ill.
Jo, i'll be in touch via email regarding your project early next year, it sounds like something which needs as much media attention as possible. In the meantime, i'll send this round my friends and post it on twitter and facebook. I'll try to get as many eyes on this issue as possible.
All the best
Thanks for the kind comment
Thanks for the kind comment Tim.
I was only in Ghana for three weeks working for an NGO involved in raising the standards of mental health care. I am due to return early next year where we have been granted access to some of the countries prisons where many of those with conditions from schizophrenia and psychosis to epilepsy are incarcerated due to a lack of state run care facilities.
Amazing feature, Joseph,
Amazing feature, Joseph, bringing an important situation to the forefront.
How long were you in Ghana?
Tim