Basic Needs-Ghana, an NGO, in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has held a training and education programme on Mental Health for stakeholders in the Upper East Region.

The stakeholders, who included; health workers, Assembly Members, Opinion leaders, Prayer Camp Managers and Traditional Leaders, would contribute to the fight against issues confronting persons with Mental Illness and Epilepsy.

They were given training on how to pay critical attention and offer help to persons with Mental Health disorder and Epilepsy, aimed at making them abreast with issues confronting persons with Mental Health Illness and Epilepsy and how they could assist them to seek for health care.

Sponsored by UKAID, the training formed part of the numerous initiatives undertaken by Basic Needs-Ghana to promote partnership with the Private Non- Formal Health Services to ensure the quality delivery of Mental Health Services in the region.

Basic Needs-Ghana is a mental health and development advocacy organisation that implements and promotes initiatives to transform the lives of people with mental illness or epilepsy by providing access to integrated mental health care, social and economic services in the communities.

Speaking at the programme, Mr Bernard Azuure, the Project Officer of Basic Needs-Ghana, said the rights, issues and wellbeing of Persons with Mental Health and Epilepsy needed a collective effort to tackle and his outfit had organised stakeholders engagement with Municipal and District Assembly staff and Heads of Department in the region.

He explained that the training was to build the capacity of the stakeholders on Basic Psychiatry and Human Rights of Mentally Ill and Epilepsy people adding that with support from the Upper East Regional Health Directorate of the GHS it would promote and improve the practices and behaviours for persons with Mental Health disorder and Epilepsy to exist comfortably.

Mr Azuure said stigmatisation and maltreatment of persons with Mental Illness and Epilepsy was against their rights and entreated stakeholders to collaborate effectively with them and other authorities to deal with the menace.

Taking the stakeholders through the causes, symptoms and how to deal with Mental Health issues, Mr Philip Aboagye, a Psychiatrist Nurse of the Upper East Regional Directorate of the GHS, underscored alcohol and drugs as major causes of mental illness adding, Divorce and stress, were other causes of mental illness and called on all the stakeholders to deal with the problem and help victims of Mental Health disorder and Epilepsy to access healthcare at health facilities.