An overview of Ghana’s mental health system: results from an assessment using the World Health Organization’s Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS)

Abstract

The main strength of the mental health system was the presence of a long established service with staff working across the country in outpatients departments and hospitals. The main weakness was that government spending on mental health was very low and the bulk of services, albeit very sparse, were centred around the capital city leaving much of the rest of the country with almost no provision. Service provision was dominated by nurses with few other professions groups present.