By: Joyce Kantam Kolamong
Returning home is not easy for some migrants and their families. The expectations are high for them to support their families back home.
Instead of finding greener pastures, migrants might experience stigmatization, exploitation, violence, and life under inhumane conditions when they travel through irregular means.
Upon return, they might encounter challenges to resettle and reintegrate in their communities.
The stigma and discrimination that come with this lead most returnees depressed and their mental health derailed.
It is in light of this development that BasicNeeds Ghana with its development partners, GIZ and the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, marked this year’s World Mental Health to draw attention to the mental health needs and support pathways of returned migrants.
According to BasicNeeds Ghana, the country needs to do more to help returned migrants access to mental healthcare and psychosocial services.
In 2021, with the financial support of Dignity Institute Against Torture, a study was carried out in Ghana and Liberia to understand returned migrant’s access to mental healthcare services and how the existing mental health service infrastructure and set-up support mental health and psychosocial needs of returned migrants.
The findings revealed that returned migrants, though with significant mental health and psychosocial care need, had poor access to mental healthcare services.
Similarly, existing infrastructure was highly inadequate mainly because of absence of mental health services at most healthcare facilities.
This situation compelled the International Organisation for Migration to support Dignity Institute Against Torture and BasicNeeds-Ghana to initiate a project to provide assistance to returned migrants with mental health care needs.
A Lancet Commission on Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health in 2020, found out that Social stigma, in various forms and discrimination is found to be worse than the mental health conditions that people live with.
The Executive Director of BasicNeeds Ghana, Peter Yaro, said highlighting the importance of mental health and well-being of returned migrants will influence the support of stakeholders and the need for the government to prioritize it.
The Project Manager of IOM, Florian Braedli, said, “despite efforts made, stigma and discrimination continue to hinder progress”.
He called on the government to “make mental health care accessible and affordable”.
A UN Doctor at the UN Clinic in Accra, Dr. Abanda Tuechie, said mental health and welbirng must be a global priority.
He said in order to achieve SDG 3, stakeholders must extend the boundaries of intervention given to mental health.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, said government acknowledges the trauma migrants go through elsewhere and proper support system will help in that regard.
“Government is in the process of getting a mental health hospital in Tamale to provide psychosocial support and assistance to Returnees and the public”.
The theme for the durbar was, “Making Mental Health and Welbieng For All Migrants A Priority”.