Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy Programme (MhLAP) has held a stakeholders’ council meeting to review first phase of its project and to renew its commitment towards addressing challenges facing mental health patients in the country.

Members of the council deliberated on successes and hitches of the first phase of their project, developed to cover 2011 to 2014 to aid in developing a phase-two project work plan for Ghana spanning 2015 to 2019.

Mr Humphrey Kofie, Country Facilitator mhLAP told council members: “We need your collaborative efforts in order to tackle the issues of mental health in the country”, which required that members build momentum on the new project.

“The objectives of the new project is to see how to consolidate what have been achieved of this four years towards improving mental challenges,” he added.

Mr Segun Woye Fadahunsi, mhLAP Progamme Coordinator, West Africa, said the mental health and leadership programme was focusing on service delivery, and urged member countries to design programmes based on the anti-stigmatization campaign and to eliminate social stigma associated with mental illness.

“I’m looking forward for their contribution to adopt an intervention guide in Ghana, because it’s done in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and it’s now left with Ghana”, he added.

Mr Peter Yaro, Executive Director, BasicNeeds Ghana noted that the stakeholders forum was an opportunity to double efforts at raising awareness on mental issues.

The stakeholder council Ghana adopted: “Ghana Mental Health Coalition”, as the name for the council, and also elected a four member executive members to steer the affairs of the coalition.

Activities enshrined in the new project would focus on anti-stigmatization campaign, conduct annual leadership and advocacy training to be held in Nigeria, curriculum development workshop and stakeholder’s workshop among others.