The Gub-Katimali Society in collaboration with BasicNeeds–UK has launched a three-year Maternal Mental Health project titled; ‘Enhancing Maternal Health of 29,520 pregnant women and mothers and their children to realize maternal and child health in Ghana.’
The project funded by DFID will be implemented in seventy-four target districts of four regions namely, northern, upper east, upper west, Brong-Ahafo and Greater Accra.
The project seeks to contribute to improve maternal health and livelihoods outcomes among the poor, vulnerable women and girls in target districts through, strengthening capacity of existing facilities and community based Maternal and Child Health and psychiatric health staff.
This will deliver a ‘Stepped up care intervention for the maternal mental health care model, for improved access to quality and appropriate maternal and child health services.
The target women and their children, especially, vulnerable pregnant women and mothers will also have an opportunity to participate in income generation activities.
One of the principal goals of the programme is to support mental health service users and their care-givers for better advocacy influence to achieve quality maternal mental health services, influence attitude around maternal mental health. The project also seeks to use this model to reduce stigma and discrimination in target communities, and promoting change in maternal mental health policy.
Speaking to Zaa News at the re-lunch and engagement meeting of the MMHP with MMDAs, and GHS officials, Programmes Coordinator Sheikh Yakubu Abdul Kareem indicated that the issue of maternal mental health illness is a collaborative fight since the Gub-katimali society cannot do it alone.
He also attributed the situation in the northern region to poverty and called for universal support for pregnant women who are mentally ill.
BY: LILIAN D. WALTER
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