By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
  • Home
  • International
    InternationalShow More
    United Nations
    4th International Conference On Financing For Development Delivers Renewed Hope And Action For Sustainable Development
    3 months ago
    The African Development Bank and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) scale up drive for sustainable urbanization in Africa
    AfDB, UN-Habitat Scale Up Drive For Sustainable Urbanisation In Africa
    3 months ago
    UN
    North Africa: Green Climate Fund Approves Record $300m For FAO-designed Projects In Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, The Sahel
    3 months ago
    UNICEF
    How Wars Across Middle East, North Africa Affecting Children – UNICEF
    3 months ago
    UNDP
    UN Development Programme Welcomes Historic Deal On Sustainable Development Even Amidst Global Turmoil
    3 months ago
  • Africa
    Africa
    Show More
    Top News
    African Union Member States Pledge To Improve Nutrition And Food Security In Africa
    3 years ago
    Experts Call For Renewed Focus On Sustainable Development Goals In Africa
    3 years ago
    Green Revolution in Africa
    Food Security: How Africa Can Benefit From Russia-Ukraine War – AGRA Boss
    2 years ago
    Latest News
     South Africa’s Think 20: Experts Address How Africa Can Bridge Digital Divide And Achieving Financial Inclusion
    1 week ago
    U.S. Africa Command Commander Visits West Africa, Underscores Partnership In Addressing Evolving Terrorism Threat
    2 weeks ago
    West Africa Regional Preparatory Workshop For COP30 On Climate Change Opens In Dakar
    2 weeks ago
    Systemic Racism Against Africans And People Of African Descent In Criminal Justice Systems Is Pervasive
    2 weeks ago
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
    Politics
    Show More
    Top News
    Nobody Can Hijack Our Mandate, Vows Osun Gov, Adeleke
    3 years ago
    PDP To Osun People: Oyetola Is A ‘Political Leprosy’, Run For Cover
    3 years ago
    UI Alumni Association Hails Okowa’s Giant Strides In Delta State
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    EU, ADC Parley: Calls for Electoral Reforms To Guarantee Free, Fair, Credible Polls In Nigeria
    5 days ago
    NSC Chairman To Engage With Youth And Sports Stakeholders At The Nest Centre
    2 months ago
    Edo District Bye-election: SDP Candidate, Hon. Isidahomhen Promises To Pursue Best Interest Of Esanland 
    2 months ago
    PHOTOS: Vinod Obasa Takes Oath Of Office
    2 months ago
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
    News
    Show More
    Top News
    Ondo Governor, Akeredolu Begins Construction Of First Flyover In Akure
    2 years ago
    Celebration Of Life: Reverend Adewumi Jegede Of Later House Of God Assembly Buried Amid Pomp
    1 year ago
    Pa Abdulfatah Amoo Ayanwale
    Pa Ayanwale Dies At 76, Fidau Prayers Holds 8 August
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Anambra Traditional Ruler For Burial 9 October
    5 days ago
    Lagos Hosts Eko Skills Development Initiative For Youths
    7 days ago
    October 1: Nationhood Must Translate Into Better Living Conditions For Nigerians, CAPPA Tells FG
    1 week ago
    EX-APC Chairman Sad Over Bandit Killings In Oke-Ode And Other Parts Of Kwara 
    1 week ago
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
    Entertainment
    Show More
    Top News
    Nigeria’s Glo(W)Ing Entertainment Industry: 19 Years Of Strategic Partnership
    3 years ago
    2023 Polls: Stay Tuned To These Channels On GOtv For Breaking News And Analysis 
    3 years ago
    Family, Friends Celebrate As Princess Zara Raji Turns Two
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    GOtv Stream vs. Traditional TV: Why Viewers Are Loving the Flexibility
    2 weeks ago
    Securing Africa’s Digital Future: Entertainment in Safe Hands
    2 weeks ago
    BBNaija S10: Joanna, Mide, and Isabella Clash as Denari and Tracy Exit the House
    3 weeks ago
    Akamai Adaptive Media Player 2: Bitmovin And Akamai Set New Streaming Standard
    4 weeks ago
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
    Lifestyle
    Show More
    Top News
    NCC, NICO To Leverage Telecom Channels To Promote Nigerian Cultural Heritage
    1 year ago
    LENT 2023: Nigerians Knocking On Heaven’s Door By Bishop Emmanuel Badejo
    3 years ago
    Happiness
    Eight Ways To Stay Happier In 2025, According To Science
    9 months ago
    Latest News
    Ambassador Raffy Bello Greets Imperial Majesty, Ooni Enitan-Ogunwusi, As Olojo Festival Begins In Ile-Ife
    2 weeks ago
    Preserving African Culture: Polaris Bank , Chivita, And Danone Support CIKDAS’ Youth Literary Initiative
    1 month ago
    Nigeria, Switzerland Takes Major Steps Towards Repatriation Of Artifacts And Cultural Cooperation
    1 month ago
    Archbishop Ugorji Hails St. Helen’s Choir As One of the Best Choirs in Owerri Archdiocese
    1 month ago
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
    BusinessShow More
    Unity Bank Shareholders Approve Merger With Providus Bank
    2 weeks ago
    Yomi Joseph Digital Pr Launches 360° Marketing Solutions To Transform Brands Into Industry Leaders
    2 weeks ago
    Gov Abiodun Showcases Ogun Investment Opportunities At AfCFTA In Algeria
    1 month ago
    Intra-African Trade Fair
    Nigeria To Host Intra-African Trade Fair In 2027
    1 month ago
    Bank of Agriculture
    How Nigeria-Brazil Pact Will Boost Agricultural Investment, Food Security – BOA
    1 month ago
  • Health
    Health
    Show More
    Top News
    WHO
    WHO Gives Nigerian Laboratory Full Accreditation To Fight Measles And Rubella
    3 years ago
    Rising Cases Of Measles In Liberia Worries WHO
    3 years ago
    United Nations Hails Nigeria’s Impressive Integrated Health Delivery Services
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    2025 World Pharmacist Day: Lagos Takes Healthcare To Ikorodu Communities
    1 week ago
    World Heart Day: Adopt Healthy Food Policies, CAPPA Tasks FG, States
    1 week ago
    Lagos Takes Fight Against HIV To Communities
    2 weeks ago
    Nigeria’s Health Financing: Lessons From Canada’s $32.5bn Tobacco Settlement
    2 weeks ago
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Reading: United Nations Tasks Ghana Govt On Mental Health Care
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
Aa
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
  • Politics
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Health
  • More
Search
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
  • Health
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Independent News Express > Blog > Africa > United Nations Tasks Ghana Govt On Mental Health Care
AfricaHealth

United Nations Tasks Ghana Govt On Mental Health Care

Last updated: 2023/02/06 at 10:00 AM
3 years ago
Share
15 year old Alpha has two chains on his feet, one of them chained to a chair which he carries with him for 24 hours a day. He is detained in the 'City of Rest', a rudimentary counselling and mini rehabilitation centre for recovering drug addicts, alcoholics and traumatised or delinquent youths. It is run by a pastor who attributes the centre's success to the extensive rest, food and prayer.
SHARE

BY MALLIM WUNEME WILLIAM

United Nations member countries have urged the Ghanaian government to address the shackling and inhumane treatment of people with mental health conditions in Ghana, Human Rights Watch said today.

- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

These recommendations were made on January 24, 2023, at the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of Ghana.

“Ghana has failed to meet its own commitment to protect the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities who are held in shackles in faith-based and traditional healing centers,” said Adriana Masgras, disability rights coordinator at Human Rights Watch. “We want to see all countries institute and enforce a global ban on shackling, including in Ghana.”

The inhumane practice of shackling exists due to inadequate support and mental health services, as well as widespread beliefs that stigmatize people with psychosocial disabilities, which have continued despite positive legal developments over the past decade.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process was established in 2006, to assess the human rights records of each UN member state every five years.

Prior to the review itself, Ghana, through a national report, UN entities, and civil society organizations had the opportunity to report on Ghana’s progress in carrying out recommendations made during previous cycles of the review process. Human Rights Watch submitted a report outlining the human rights abuses against people with psychosocial disabilities in prayer camps and psychiatric hospitals in Ghana, which it documented with reports in 2012 and 2020.

During the 2017 review, Ghana’s government supported 10 out of 11 recommendations addressing the rights of people with disabilities, including to “prevent, investigate and prosecute inhumane treatment in prayer camps or witch camps and psychiatric hospitals” and “address societal attitudes condoning such violations and abuses of rights of persons with mental disabilities.” However, shackling persists.

In November 2022, Human Rights Watch visited five prayer camps and traditional healing centers in the Eastern and Central region of Ghana, and interviewed more than 50 people. These included people with psychosocial disabilities, mental health professionals, staff at prayer camps and traditional healing centers, mental health advocates, religious leaders, and two senior government officials. Human Rights Watch found more than 60 people, including some children, in chains or confined in small cages and witnessed serious human rights abuses, including a lack of adequate food, unsanitary conditions and a lack of hygiene, and a lack of freedom of movement.

One woman said she was raped three times and never received post-rape care. She said the staff’s response was to lock her door so outsiders couldn’t gain access to her. Human Rights Watch shared this information with Ghana’s Mental Health Authority and Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice.

Ghana should establish the levy envisaged under the 2012 Mental Health Act to fund mental health services as a matter of priority; develop voluntary and accessible community-based mental health and support services so families do not resort to shackling; and adequately resource the recently formed Visiting Committees and Mental Health Tribunal, mandated to monitor implementation of the law and investigate complaints.

It should also provide information to traditional and faith-based healers, as well as the general public, to combat the stigma associated with mental health conditions, and ensure that people with psychosocial disabilities receive adequate support for housing, independent living, and job training. Other countries, particularly those that called for an end to shackling, should hold Ghana accountable to the UPR recommendations it supported in bilateral and multilateral forums.

“Everyone in Ghana, including people with mental health conditions, has the right to live free from stigma, discrimination, and abuse and to receive the services and support they need,” Masgras said. “Ghana, with the encouragement of other governments, needs to abide by its own commitments and immediately enforce its existing ban on shackling.”

You Might Also Like

2025 World Pharmacist Day: Lagos Takes Healthcare To Ikorodu Communities

 South Africa’s Think 20: Experts Address How Africa Can Bridge Digital Divide And Achieving Financial Inclusion

World Heart Day: Adopt Healthy Food Policies, CAPPA Tasks FG, States

Lagos Takes Fight Against HIV To Communities

U.S. Africa Command Commander Visits West Africa, Underscores Partnership In Addressing Evolving Terrorism Threat

TAGGED: Ghana, Human Rights Watch, Mental Health Care
INadminNG February 6, 2023 February 6, 2023
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Telegram Email Print
Previous Article Tems Breaks Record At Grammy, First Female Nigerian Artist To Win Award
Next Article Big Brother Titans: Love Triangles, Revenge And Shocking Eviction
about us

Independent News Express (iNews Express), a publication of 4Ds Nigeria Limited, is birthed out of the desires of the founding fathers to report News as it is.

We value Professionalism, Excellence, Service, Creativity and Integrity.

The Company

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy & Policy

Quick Links

  • Advertise with us
  • Newsletters
  • Deal

Categories

Find Us on Socials

© Independent News Express. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?