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This article will examine changes in Ghana's mental health legislation with a focus on children. The goal is to determine the recognition and rights the law guarantees children with mental disorders. Whereas the first mental health legislation in 1888 did not recognize children with mental illness, this situation changed gradually, starting with the Mental Health Decree of 1972. The Mental Health Act, 2012 (MHA), however, provides the most comprehensive set of rights to date for children with mental illness. This article argues that the MHA meets the international standards set in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Further, it reinforces rights that the Persons with Disability Act, 2006, offers all Ghanaians. The authors caution that, because the MHA became law only in May 2012, it is too early to assess its implementation and efficacy. However, if the past is anything to go by, this article speculates that lack of resources may inhibit the effective implementation of the new act.
Keywords: children, disability rights, Ghana, mental health, psychiatry
Introduction
According to the World Health Organization's Mental Health Improvements for Nations Development (MIND), approximately 650,000 Ghanaians suffer from severe mental illness, approximately 1 in 33 of the country's entire population (World Health Organization [WHO], 2010). The WHO report states further that approximately 1,166,000 of Ghana's population suffer from moderate to mild mental disorder (1 in 18.5). Ghana's population stood at 24 million in 2010 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010), an indication that the number of individuals with mental illness could be higher. Hence, it is not unreasonable to assume that mental illness is a serious problem in Ghana. However, it is estimated that there are only ten to fifteen psychiatrists in the country, and the ratio of psychiatrists to the mental health population makes it literally impossible for patients to receive adequate treatment. Available modern facilities in Ghana are inadequate, with only a limited supply of medication and an acute lack of qualified mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers. Psychiatric institutions are understaffed; it is believed that one psychiatrist is responsible for 1.5 million people (Ewusi-Mensah, 2001). Akwasi Osei, Ghana's chief psychiatrist and medical director of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, recently stated that three nurses are responsible for 160 patients while on...