A Picture of [Mental] Health { 10 images } Created 11 Feb 2011

In a country of 26 million people, Ghana has only a dozen public psychiatrists. The country’s three psychiatric institutions are overcrowded, woefully underfunded, and are all located in the better-developed coastal south, meaning that for many people there is simply no access to appropriate treatment.



Psychotropic medications are theoretically available free from the government, but anecdotes of inconsistencies and shortages in supplies abound, and the unavailability of modern, more effective drugs is frequently cited by the few professionals on the ground.



To compound the situation, mental illness is cloaked in misconceptions, misinformation, and deep-rooted beliefs in witchcraft, sorcery and demonic possession. As a result, clinical treatment may not be the first recourse even if it is available, and many people rather seek the services of a traditional healer or an exorcist.



Between lack of access to clinical treatment and lack of awareness of its possibilities, those who are mentally ill often find themselves subjected to incredibly inhumane treatment at the hands of people who either believe they are doing the right thing, or who simply don’t know any better.