Data from the Upper East Regional Health Directorate suggest that mental health conditions account for over 2,000 outpatient visits annually.

Over 2,000 mental health cases, 27 suicide deaths recorded between 2023, 2025 in Upper East Region

The most worrying situation according to the directorates is suicide deaths, where in 2023, 7 deaths were recorded, 13 in 2024 and 7 in the first quarter of 2025 and attempted suicide from 2023 to 2025 were 269 cases.

The District Health Management Information System (DHIMS), in the Upper East Region also recorded 210 depression cases in 2023, 137 in 2024 and 108 cases in the first quarter of 2025.

Between 2023 and the first quarter of 2025, a total of 509 cases of mental disorders due to alcohol use, 557 cases of psychoactive substance use disorders, and 270 cases of bipolar disorders were recorded. In the region.

The Upper East Region continues to grapple with major gaps in mental health service delivery, largely due to the absence of a state-owned psychiatric facility and the limited number of trained professionals, most of whom are concentrated in district hospitals. These challenges mean many mental health cases either go untreated or are poorly managed, while stigma and cultural misconceptions still portray mental illness as curses.

To help address the situation, Public Health at Your Doorstep (Healing Wheels), an initiative founded by public health nurse and Mandela Washington Fellow, Gifty Atampugbire, is training nurses across the region in basic mental health care. The project, supported by the United States Government, is aimed at equipping frontline health workers with the skills to provide quality mental health services in the absence of state-owned facilities.

So far, training sessions have been rolled out in several districts with growing participation from health professionals. The number of trainees has increased from 50 to 250, a development Mrs. Atampugbire attributes to the strong support of the U.S. government and the commitment of local stakeholders.

“In all five northern regions, we do not have a single state-owned psychiatric hospital. Yet, the first point of contact for most patients is usually a nurse or a midwife, who often lack the basic skills to handle mental health cases,” she explained in an interview with 3News.

“While we wait for such a facility, why not build the capacity of nurses? I submitted a proposal, and the U.S. government funded it, providing consultants to help train on a critical aspect of mental health – mental health first aid.”

According to her, the training empowers nurses to recognize early warning signs of mental health or substance-use challenges, engage patients in relevant conversations, offer immediate support, and provide referrals to specialists when necessary.

Despite the progress, Mrs. Atampugbire expressed frustration over the difficulties of mobilizing resources for mental health interventions. “We can no longer look away. Rising cases of alcohol and substance abuse are destroying our young people and weakening our national workforce. This is why I brought the training to the people of the Upper East Region, where there is no state-level facility. We thank the U.S. Department of State and our partners for the support, but I call on government and regional leaders to invest in mental health because it is a neglected yet pressing public health issue,” she urged.

Her call is timely, as the Ghana Mental Health Authority recently reported a 40 percent increase in suicide deaths nationwide in 2024, with 475 attempts recorded in the first half of 2025 alone.

Felicia Mason-Edwards, Director of Mental Health Peer Support at Texas Health and Human Services, who traveled to Ghana to support the training, described the initiative as “an investment in dignity and the right to accessible mental health care.”

She stressed that equipping every health worker, from CHPS compounds to regional hospitals, ensures individuals in crisis find safe, nonjudgmental support at their first point of contact.

The program has also changed the perspectives of local health workers. Atanga Henrietta, a senior nursing officer at Talensi District, admitted that before the training, many health staff and families were hesitant to interact with mentally ill persons, often resorting to chaining or isolating them.

“This program has opened my eyes to better ways of engaging and supporting them. I now understand the right approach is to get closer and provide care, not push them away,” she reflected.

Currently, nurses and other frontline workers in nine districts and municipalities are benefitting from the training, which aims to bridge the treatment gap, reduce stigma, and strengthen mental health support systems in the Upper East Region.