Sampa (B/R)-Ghana, Oct. 19, GNA – The heart touching story of a mentally-impaired nursing mother has received public attention, as Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark the Mental Health Day (MHD) celebration.
Akosua Tuah, the 31-year-old patient, and a single mother of two, successfully delivered her third baby on the eve of the MHD celebration on the street of Sampa, a Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire border town in the Jaman North District of the Bono Region by herself.
“The baby is healthy, but looked dirty when Tuah was brought to the facility around 0700 hours,” Philomena Asima, a midwife on duty at Sampa Fountain Care Hospital, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA)
The nurse said due to the current condition of the mother, it was not advisable to allow her to breastfeed the baby.
However, the officials at the facility told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during a visit that the baby had since been placed at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Mr Paul Atta Poku, a Registered Nurse and Mental Health Officer at the Fountain Care Hospital, Tuah has been stable since she was brought to the facility and provided with medication, saying schizophrenics could be treated only if patients strictly adhered to taking their drugs.
He expressed concern that cases of mental health were very high in the Jaman North District, with epilepsy and schizophrenia being the common ones.
This is because both cases are hereditary and called on parents and families whose children suffered from various mental health conditions not to hide them, instead of supporting them to access medication to aid their treatment process.
Mr Poku said the facility had enough mental health drugs for patients, but due to the costly nature, many patients could not afford to buy them.
He therefore, appealed to the government to facilitate and ensure the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) covered the drugs for the patients to access medical care.
Tuah and her baby’s story remained a topical issue in the Sampa town, as residents wondered who was exactly behind the father of her children.
Describing her as a popular lunatic, always sighted roaming on the streets of the town, some residents and commercial drivers told the GNA, Tuah could not be predicted as she looked aggressive and normal sometimes.
Touched by her story, MIHOSO International Foundation, a Sunyani-based health centred advocacy and social development NGO, has opted to cater for the feeding fee of the baby girl.
The NGO which also implements a mental health project aimed at helping to alleviate the plight of persons with mental illness, had since presented GhC1,000.00 for the upkeep of Tuah and her baby.
In an interview with GNA, Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, MIHOSO, underlined the need for the government to tackle what he described as the intermittent shortages of mental health drugs in the country.
He also added his voice on the need for the NHIS to capture mental health drugs, saying research showed a relapse intake of drugs worsened the condition of many of the patients.
Mr Benarkuu called on the Municipal and District Assemblies to also include persons with mental conditions on the disbursement of the Disability Fund so that patients could also engage in petty trading and artisanal work to enhance their socio-economic lives.
He appealed to parents and caregivers not to neglect patients, instead draw closer, tolerate, be patient and listen to them, saying giving patients the required attention in diverse ways aided their recovery and healing processes.
October 10 was the MHD, set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and celebrated annually to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health treatment and eradication.
The day also provided an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
