CEO of the Mental Health Authority Pinaman Appau underscored the critical need for mental health awareness.

According to her, a significant lack of understanding about mental health persists, with many people suffering silently and needing professional support.

In an interview with Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on May 20, she explained that, “Quite recently we were working on a strategic plan which would cover 2023-2026 and we did a little survey and most people told us that we still don’t know about mental health and we want more education on it and I think it's one of the biggest issues we have to look at and that’s why Mental Health Authority took the bold step to declare May as the purple month so that we can create awareness.

“We want people to come to the understanding that mental health is not an event that happens but mental health is part of us, is part of our everyday lives and the earlier we sit up and start tackling it, the better.”

Dr. Appau emphasised the need to dispel the misconception that mental illness only affects certain groups and that some people are immune.

“No, we are not immune to it. It can be me today, it can be you tomorrow and so there is a need for us to take a look at it,” she added

She pointed out that while healthcare professionals in Ghana understand the importance of mental health, it is not given the priority it deserves. This is why the authority is advocating for the integration of mental health into all healthcare disciplines.

Dr. Appau explained that mental health conditions frequently coexist with physical health conditions and therefore addressing the mental health needs of individuals often leads to improved outcomes for their physical health conditions.

 “And so we are trying to let those in authority know that, look, you cannot just look, let’s say look at HIV and that’s it, the person with HIV has mental health issues that when the mental issue is treated will make his or her HIV treatment outcome better, so we are trying to push for them to have a better understanding so that they can put the policies right,” she added.