Tamale, October 10, 2025 – BasicNeeds-Ghana and the Alliance for Mental Health and Development have called on the Government of Ghana to make mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) a key component of the country’s disaster preparedness and emergency response systems.
The appeal, made in commemoration of the 2025 World Mental Health Day, underscores the urgent need to integrate mental health care into national and community-level responses to humanitarian catastrophes such as floods, fires, conflicts, and road accidents that often leave lasting psychological scars on survivors.
This year’s global theme, Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies, highlights the importance of addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of people affected by crises.
According to the Alliance, while Ghana’s disaster interventions have traditionally focused on physical survival, providing food, shelter, and water, the emotional and psychological toll on victims remains largely neglected.
Fear, anxiety, trauma, and depression are common but rarely addressed, the Alliance noted, adding that for vulnerable groups such as women, children, persons with disabilities, and those already living with mental health conditions, crises deepen existing inequalities and suffering.
BasicNeeds-Ghana and the Mental Health Alliance outlined several key actions for the government, including:
- Integrating MHPSS into disaster preparedness frameworks of NADMO and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
- Including mental health experts among first responders during emergencies.
- Increasing budgetary allocations to mental health and ensuring adequate funding for psychosocial services.
- Equipping frontline workers with psychosocial first aid skills.
- Strengthening community-based support systems, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
- Combating stigma through sustained public education campaigns.
The statement also emphasised that effective recovery from disasters requires more than rebuilding physical infrastructure; it demands emotional healing and resilience-building among survivors.
Ghana, the Alliance said, has made progress through the Mental Health Act 2012 (Act 846) and the integration of mental health into primary health care.
However, mental health services remain underfunded and overly concentrated in urban centres, while stigma continues to silence many in need, challenges that become even more acute in times of crisis.
As part of this year’s commemoration, BasicNeeds-Ghana renewed its commitment to ensuring that mental health and psychosocial support become integral to Ghana’s Universal Health Coverage strategy, ensuring “no one is left behind in times of catastrophe or emergency”.
About the Alliance
The Alliance is a national network of over 300 civil society, non-governmental, and community-based organisations advocating for mental health in Ghana.
It operates through regional chapters in all 16 regions, working to promote inclusion, policy reform, and community mental health interventions.
