Mental Health Service in Ghana: a Review of the Case

Mental health care in Ghana has been fraught with several challenges leading to stagnant growth in mental health service delivery and in some cases a severe depreciation in the nature of care. The Government of Ghana pays little or no attention to mental health care in the country, a situation that has led to poor service delivery in the three major psychiatric hospitals in Ghana. The implementation of the Ghana Mental Act of 2012 has also been faced with major challenges with no significant progress being made. This studytherefore sought to review and document the development of mental health care services in Ghana. Specifically, the study examined the various legislations on mental health that have been enacted in Ghana since 1900; investigated the implementation of the current Mental Health Act of Ghana; found out whether the Ghanaian government has prioritise mental health services in the country and assessed the challenges and problems that confronted mental health services in Ghana since 1900.The study concludes that, since 1888 efforts have been made by various governments to legislate the provision of mental services in Ghana. However, these legislations have not always protected the rights and interest of the mentally ill

Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever in Africa: a Necessary Highlight

The purpose of this commentary is to re-evaluate the historic and scientific facts on Ebola haemorrhagic fever and the role of the International community, especially Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in stemming the tide. It rehashes the argument on causes and prevention and draws attention of readers to emphasize the need for establishment of airport, sea port and border health posts with well drilled and efficient health professionals to be able to test, detect and quarantine persons with Ebola and treat them to prevent the spread of the disease from infected persons to primary or first contacts and secondary contacts. Significantly, countries in the West African sub-region are alarmed by the potential spread of the disease to countries that have hitherto been free of the disease. The potential global threat of the disease has been analysed and measures to be taken by countries within the West-African sub-region have been emphasized. This notwithstanding, does the declaration of countries as Ebola-free suggest the last of it

God's wrath and judgment on ethnic hatred and hope for victims of ethnic hatred in Obadiah: implications for Africa

Ethnic hatred has caused many lives on the African continent. In many cases victims of ethnic hatred are left without hope for the future. The book of Obadiah shows that there is hope for victims of ethnic hatred. This article looks at the book from the viewpoint that considers God's wrath and judgment on ethnic hatred, his assurance of justice and his plan to give hope to victims of ethnic hatred. Compared to Judah's misfortune, the Edomites used their advantage to participate in the destruction of "a brother" nation. But God would administer justice which would lead to the abasement of Edom and offer hope to Judah. Victims of ethnic hatred in Africa should console themselves with the fact that God will administer justice that would see to the punishment of those who take advantage of their condition and offer them (victims of ethnic hatred) a better future.DHE

The relationship between college health professionals\u27 communicative behaviors, students\u27 satisfaction, and students\u27 perceived quality of healthcare

In this thesis, a Pearson product-moment correlation was performed using SPSS to analyze the associations between college health professionals’ communicative behaviors (instrumental and affective), students’ satisfaction, and students’ perceived quality of healthcare. Results showed that college health professionals’ communicative behaviors positively associated with students’ satisfaction and students’ perceived quality of healthcare. The implication is that college health professionals need to pay careful attention to how they interact with students at student health service because their interactions can potentially cause either high or low patient satisfaction or perception of quality of healthcare among students. Additionally, this thesis used anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory to investigate how students managed their anxiety and uncertainty about their health issues when they interacted with college health professionals at student health service. The thesis found that students reported using trust, relaxation, and information seeking/giving as strategies to deal with their anxiety and uncertainty about their health issues before and during their interactions with college health professionals

Young people’s motivation for civic engagement in Ghana

yesIt is argued that “individuals do not automatically become free and responsible citizens but must be educated for citizenship” (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 2003, cited in Leisha, 2012:55). Hence adults’ promotion of young people’s civic engagement is intended to educate young people to become active citizens. This assumes a deficit, or lack of caring by young people about issues in their country or community. However, young people’s sense of belonging and motivations to participate in civic activities are different from that of adults. This paper discusses research with young people involved in two participatory initiatives in Ghana, to examine their motivations for engaging in the projects. The study found that in addition to demonstrating that they are active citizens by engaging in the projects, the young people were also motivated by other self-interest reasons. There was however a marked gender difference in their reasons for participating in the projects. It was observed that the motivations given by the young people reflected gender stereotype of masculinity and femininity. The paper concludes that by understanding what motivates young people to engage in civic activities and other decision-making forums, participatory opportunities that emphasise young people’s interests and motivations could be created in order to sustain their participation

Childhood construction and its implications for children’s participation in Ghana

yesIn 2012 Steven Mintz argued that the history of childhood matters, since it has context-specific implications. This paper outlines the historical construction of childhood, in general, and specifically in Ghana, and presents how childhood construction impacts on children’s participation in Ghana. The paper argues that the cultural value underpinning childhood construction in the Ghanaian context - i.e. unidirectional respect from children and young people to adults at all times - has implications for children’s participation, as it limits children and young people’s willingness to participate in decision-making forums. The paper concludes that by such cultural ideology any participatory effort that includes children, young people and adults together may be counterproductive and thus likely to fail

The live goat ritual in Leviticus 16

The live goat ritual in Leviticus 16 has, for many decades, attracted debate in biblical scholarship. However, the main focus has often been on the identity of Azazel. This article examines some aspects of the live goat ritual in Leviticus 16: (1) the use of two hands rather than the usual one hand laid over the head of the goat; (2) the content of the confession over the goat; (3) the purpose of the rite; (4) whether the ritual is a sacrifice or something else; and (5) the significance of the ritual. I contend that the two hands used are representational, that the ritual is a unique sacrifice, and that the ritual symbolized a complete eradication of sin from the community.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Implications of Mob Justice Practice among Communities in Ghana

This study assessed the implications of mob justice practice among communities in Ghana. The study used the descriptive survey technique and the sample size for the study was one thousand respondents.  The study comprised all persons who were 18 years and above and were currently residing at Kumasi Metropolis for the past two years and simple random under probability sampling procedure was used in selecting respondents for the study. Questionnaire and structured interview were the research instruments used to collect the data. All the respondents (100%) strongly agree and agree that mob justice has serious implications if not seriously checked and all the respondents (100%) strongly agree and agree that mob justice education, awareness of human rights, improving justice system, police accountability, teaching on non-violence, resourcing the police, citizens’ cooperation and community empowerment are required to deal effectively combat mob justice practice in Ghana. The study concluded that mob justice is a social canker in various Ghanaian communities which clearly violates the protection of the fundamental human rights and has serious implications on Ghana’s young democracy. The root cause of the mob justice is the people distrust in the legal and security authorities to properly handle suspected criminals compounded with the increase rate of crime and other factors. The study recommended that Ghana needs a decisive evaluation of her Criminal Procedure Code with the purpose of amending the outmoded procedures which impede swift trial and eradicating mob justice practice in Ghanaian communities demands a rigorous effort of the government, state institutions, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and all citizens Keywords: Mob justice, instance justice, rule of law, human rights, justice, Ghana

Assessment of Citizens’ Perception on the Independence of Ghana’s Electoral Commission

The independence of election management bodies is very crucial and decisive in achieving credible and legitimate elections and sustaining a country’s democracy. The study assessed citizens’ perception on the independence of Ghana’s Electoral Commission. Descriptive survey technique was used with a sample size of two thousand respondents. Simple random sampling was used to sample respondents to answer the questionnaire and interview which were the research instruments. Result findings showed that all respondents (100%) said that the Electoral Commission is truly independent in spite of the challenges the body faces and all the respondents said that the role played so far by the Electoral Commission of Ghana has made the ballot box not only become the chosen means for electing political representatives, credible elections are also acknowledged as the only acceptable way to access power. The study concluded that the Electoral Commission of Ghana is independent and one of the best electoral bodies in Africa and elections are one of principal cornerstones for democracy and political stability to thrive. The study recommended that Electoral Commission of Ghana should continue to involve and connect all stakeholders on a regular basis, providing the information they require to partake fully in and appraise the electoral process. Keywords: Elections, democracy, Franchise, Ghana, legitimate power, electoral commissio