Discrimination Against People With Disability Is A Violation Of The Inherent Dignity And Worth Of The Human Person: A Call To Intensify Investment In Quality Mental Health Care

ABSTRACT

The general well-being of the human person is the totality of the effective operation of the human brain especially, and the physical health of the person. Without the brain functioning properly, the entire body may be deemed collapsed as nothing meaningful may proceed from such individuals. Dr Brock Chisholm, the first Director -General of the World Health Organization (WHO), who was a psychiatrist and Shepherded the notion that mental and physical health were intimately linked. He also stated that “without mental health there can be no true physical health”.1 It is for this purpose that all individuals, departments, agencies and government must pay intense attention to and seek to fulfill their duties to ensuring that the right to quality health care of which mental health care is not exempted is realized. As indivisible as the right to quality mental health care is, mental health has historically been neglected in Africa’s health and development policy agenda. Faced with equally challenging matters, including maternal and child morbidity, malaria, intractable poverty, leaders in Ghana and international development agencies frequently overlook the importance of mental health. It is as a result of this conscious shift of attention from mental health to other matters that we have mental patients of various degrees of mental health challenges on the streets of Accra, Ghana. This paper seeks to unfolds: 1. the injustice done people with mental health diseases; 2. the insubstantial investment and contributions from the government of Ghana over the years in the mental health sector; 3. the inability of international bodies and communities’ and the government of Ghana’s inability to adequately factor, promote and guarantee the rights of persons with mental health diseases in the various acts and conventions; and 4. the evasive nature of advocacy in matters regarding mental health in Ghana. To effectively achieve the purpose of this paper, relevant institutions like the Mental Health Authority, reports and statistics from the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Pantang Hospital, the World Health Organization on Mental Health and Mental Health Care will be examined. Some published cases, summaries of various interviews from international and national institutions and individuals will be considered. Legislation like the Mental Health Act, 2012 (Act 846), International and Regional Instruments will be reviewed for this purpose. This paper concludes with the unfolding of the weaknesses in the mental health sector and how the rights of persons with disabilities (mental health challenge) are considered among the least in our society and treated with little or no dignity. The statistics will 1 See, Outline for a Study Group on World Health and the Survival of the Human Race. Material drawn from articles and speeches by Brock Chisholm. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1954. Available from: whqlibdoc.who.int/hist/.../ChisholmBrock_1953_Compilation.pdf [accessed 22 August 2019]vi prove that international instruments and norms regulating mental disabilities rights are somewhat ineffective in our part of the world.