NGO tackles Male Mental Health issues in Ghana

Macho Republic, a non-profit organisation will on June 15 this year hold a forum that seeks to promote a positive and healthy dialogue about male mental health in Ghana.

The maiden event to be held with the tagline ‘It’s Time To Talk’ will focus on creating awareness on mental health issues and offer valuable support and solutions to men facing mental challenges.

Speaking on his inspiration to delve into male mental health, Shiva Nana Quashie, the founder of Macho Republic indicated that his passion for the topic was borne out of his personal experience and believes that highlighting such issues is crucial and important to overall mental health advocacy in the country.

According to him, statistics show that many of the suicides committed in Ghana are men, indicating that on the average, out of five reported cases of suicides, three are men, which he said does not include unreported cases.

Nana Quashie explained that men often struggle to open up about their emotions because of the expectations of masculinity which he said can be overwhelming and leads to depression.

This he said accounts for the high-risk factor for suicide amongst men and advocated for a support system to cater for such needs.

"Men have no problem talking about football, music and even politics. So, the issue is that we don’t really like to talk about our emotions. The difficulty men have talking about their feelings and emotions are affecting the way they handle issues. This can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts," he noted.

‘We want to create an environment where men feel comfortable talking about what it takes to be a man and just how hard it can be sometimes", he added

He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to support the cause by joining his crusade at the Movenpick Hotel Friday, June 15, 2018.