The Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) has made a passionate appeal for stronger and more inclusive mental health interventions for women and girls, especially in times of crisis.
The call was made by WOMEC’s Executive Director, Dr Charity Binka, in a statement to mark World Mental Health Day 2025, observed globally under the theme “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies.”
Dr Binka noted that the theme is particularly relevant to Ghana and other African nations grappling with multiple challenges from economic hardship, floods, and epidemics to gender-based violence and conflicts, all of which threaten the mental and emotional well-being of citizens, especially women.
According to her, in periods of social and humanitarian emergencies, mental health needs escalate even as access to essential services becomes more limited.
“Women are the emotional pillars of homes and the backbone of community life, yet they face enormous physical, economic, and psychological stress without adequate support,” she said.
Dr Binka explained that women often bear the greatest emotional and psychological burden in crises, serving as caregivers, frontline workers, and nurturers while coping with displacement, loss, and trauma. However, very few receive professional help due to stigma, discrimination, and the lack of accessible, affordable mental health services.
She lamented that many women, particularly in rural communities, continue to suffer silently without safe spaces or access to community-based mental health services.
“It is heartbreaking that stigma and cultural silence continue to prevent women from seeking help when they need it most,” she stressed.
Under Dr Binka’s leadership, WOMEC is calling for mental health care to be treated as a basic human right and for all emergency response and national recovery policies to integrate mental health support as a core component.
Among the organisation’s key recommendations are:
Strengthening Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds to provide mental health support for women and girls.
Offering free trauma and psychosocial counselling for survivors of gender-based violence.
Including mental health screening in antenatal and postnatal care to promote maternal mental wellness.
Expanding the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover all mental health services and essential medications.
Dr Binka also underscored the need for collective responsibility, urging civil society, faith-based organisations, traditional leaders, and employers to help dismantle stigma and promote mental wellness.
“Traditional and faith leaders must support, not shame, women who seek help. Employers must prioritise mental wellness in the workplace. Men and families must provide emotional support and end harmful stereotypes that silence women,” she said.
She further called on the media to play a leading role in raising awareness, promoting accurate information, and humanising the conversation around mental health.
“The media must report responsibly to fight stigma and to highlight recovery and resilience stories. No woman should have to suffer in silence. Mental wellness is not a privilege; it is a right,” Dr Binka asserted.
Dr Binka concluded with a powerful reminder that the mental well-being of women is central to national stability and development.
“When women are mentally strong, families are stable, children succeed, communities thrive, and Ghana develops. Let us act now to ensure that every woman, every family, and every community has access to mental health support, especially in times of crisis. When women heal, nations recover. When women thrive, Ghana rises,” she declared.
WOMEC reaffirmed its commitment to advancing women’s rights, promoting gender-sensitive media advocacy, and championing equitable access to mental health services across Ghana.
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