The World Health Organization (WHO) has organized a four-day workshop focused on sustainability planning and business case development for its partners.

The objective of the workshop was to bolster mental health programs in Ghana.

Held in Kumasi, situated in the Ashanti Region, the workshop aimed to equip regional stakeholders with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to effectively pursue, secure, and manage strategic partnerships.

These partnerships are integral for the sustenance and efficacy of health programs.

According to a statement released by the WHO Country Office and shared with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), mental health remains a significant challenge in Ghana.

The country has an estimated 2.3 million individuals grappling with mental health conditions, and there exists a considerable 98 percent treatment gap.

To address these challenges, Ghana has been executing the Director General’s Special Initiative for Mental Health (DG-SIMH) since 2022 in four regions.

This initiative aims to bridge the existing gaps and enhance the overall quality of mental health and well-being.

Supported by the Government of Norway and USAID, this five-year initiative, operating in 12 countries globally including Ghana, seeks to extend quality and affordable mental health services to an additional 100 million people.

The WHO's efforts also encompass strengthening the capacity of the implementing regions and collaborating partners.

This approach ensures the sustained effectiveness of the initiative and other interventions even beyond the initial implementation phase.

“Through the WHO Special Initiative for Mental Health, Ghana has stepped up efforts to improve mental health care.

“So now we are working to ensure that the significant effort being made is sustained beyond the lifespan of the initiative,” says Dr Joana Ansong, the Noncommunicable Diseases & Risk Factors Officer at WHO Ghana.

The Deputy Director for Mental Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Amma Boadu lauded the foresight of WHO in seeking to enhance capacity for sustainable programming and pledged the service’s commitment to leverage the new skills to sustain health programmes at all levels.

“This capacity will help us to address gaps in our efforts to sustain mental health programmes and other health interventions, especially at the subnational level where resources are very constrained,” Dr Boadu noted.

Participants described the workshop as timely and insightful as they were empowered with the requisite technical competence to build strong business cases for sustainable health interventions.

“This is the first time we are participating in this kind of workshop. We are ready to leverage the skills to not only mental health programmes but all other health interventions,” says Mr Edward Owusu, the Savannah Regional Mental Health Coordinator.

The four-day workshop saw participants taking through partnerships, resource mobilization and advocacy to strengthen their capacity to sustain their health programmes.