The Politics of Mental Health amidst COVID-19 in Ghana

Abstract

Much scholarship has been devoted to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to

the global economy and the health of people. Little attention has, so far, been given to

the threat posed by COVID-19 to mental health, an important aspect of public health. This

paper explores the multiplicity of ways the novel coronavirus exacerbates the challenge of

mental health in Ghana. The paper argues that a looming COVID-19 induced mental health

crisis could undermine the health and wellbeing of the people, hence the need for a timely

political response through improved investment in mental health. Elite interviews with

frontline stakeholders in mental health in Ghana focused on the extent to which Ghana’s

overall response to COVID-19 prioritizes mental health and the implications thereof. Also,

content analysis of 22 presidential updates on COVID-19 and other official documents, as

well as participant observation, were used, to examine Ghana’s response to the pandemic.

Findings suggest that government decisions and responses to COVID-19 were largely

driven by science and rational politics. Specifically, the response to the mental health

aspect of the pandemic was minimal with a bias mostly towards the clinical management

and prevention of the pandemic. The paper concludes that the mental health aspect of

the pandemic is critical to the holistic management of COVID-19 and must be prioritized

to curtail possible post-COVID-19 mental health implications on the development of the

health and wellbeing of the people. Immediate measurable actions by the government to

address the medium to the long-term effect of COVID-19 induced mental health cases is,

therefore, highly recommended.