May Purple Month launched
The Mental Health Authority (MHA) has launched this year’s May Purple Month with a call for the expansion of access to mental health care.
The month-long campaign, on the theme: “Mental well-being for all: Turning awareness into action,” seeks to shift the national conversation on mental health from advocacy to the expansion of accessible, quality care, while mobilising institutions, communities and individuals to take practical steps to support mental well-being.
The event which was held in Accra yesterday was attended by health professionals, development partners and civil society groups who highlighted the need for collective action to improve mental health outcomes across the country.
Access
The Chief Executive of the authority, Dr Eugene K. Dordoye, said although awareness of mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had increased over the years, access to treatment remained a major challenge due to gaps in human resource and service delivery.
“We are moving from just awareness creation to action. It is no longer enough for people to know about mental illness; they must be able to access treatment wherever they are,” he said.
Dr Dordoye said the authority would roll out a national tele-psychiatry and e-counselling system to connect underserved districts to specialists.
Under the initiative, doctors in mental health training would be attached virtually to districts without psychiatrists to support community mental health officers and nurses, while also receiving supervision to ensure quality care.
He added that the system would also provide virtual counselling services, particularly for young people who prefer digital engagement, including being linked to mental health helplines to ensure timely support.
Integration
Dr Dordoye said the authority was also working to integrate mental health services into all health facilities across the country to ensure that care was not limited to psychiatric hospitals.
He said health facilities without specialists would be linked to psychiatrists through digital platforms to provide real-time support.
Dr Dordoye called on metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to take responsibility for persons with mental illness found on the streets, in line with the law.
“It is the duty of local authorities to ensure that persons who are ill are sent to seek healthcare.
These are people who can be productive when treated, and we must not treat them as outcasts,” he said.
Dr Dordoye urged the public to demand accountability from local authorities and also support efforts to rehabilitate affected persons.
Reforms
The Director of Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Kojo Obeng, said the passage of the Mental Health Act in 2012 marked a significant turning point, leading to the establishment of the authority in 2013, and subsequent reforms in the sector.
He said mental health, which was once a taboo subject, had gained national attention through sustained advocacy, policy development and stakeholder engagement.
Dr Obeng mentioned the integration of mental health services into primary healthcare, expansion of psychiatric units in major hospitals, improved data collection systems and collaboration with training institutions to increase the number of professionals.
Support
The Deputy Director of Mental Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Amma Boadu, said in 2025, more than 179,000 individuals were reached through community programmes, while over 117,000 homes were visited and 24,000 outreach clinics were conducted to deliver services closer to the people.
She said her outfit had also engaged faith-based and traditional healing centres to promote humane care and strengthen collaboration within communities.
For his part, the Board Chair of the authority, Dr Dan Bazanndut, said inadequate funding remained a major challenge in efforts to remove mentally ill persons from the streets and rehabilitate them.
He said the situation was a “scar on the nation’s image” when vulnerable persons were left without care.
