A 1% COVID-19 levy should be directed towards mental health services, according to the Mental Health Authority.
A 1% COVID-19 levy should be directed towards mental health services, according to the Mental Health Authority.
To close the budget gap that is impacting their ability to operate, the Mental Health Authority is pushing for the 1% COVID-19 levy to be allocated to mental health services.
This was announced on April 29, 2024, in Accra during the first-ever celebration of May as “Mental Health Month.”
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Ghana’s inadequate financial risk protection for individuals with mental health disorders presents a major obstacle to reaching the Universal Health Coverage aim. To improve mental health management, the Mental Health Authority recommends directing the 1% Covid-19 levy into the Mental Health Fund.
The Authority is thinking about the move and has hinted that it would be discussed further with the relevant parties. Professor Pinaman Appau, CEO of the Authority, expressed surprise that the Mental Health Fund still doesn’t have enough funding after being established years ago.
She claims that “funding is still a major challenge, but we keep trying.” We make an effort to make the most of what little we have. We have been advocating for the MHA Fund to receive a portion of these taxes. Could we receive a fraction of the COVID levy, then?
Let’s face it, we are the ones who have to deal with the complications, so why don’t we receive a portion of the taxes on alcohol and tobacco to help fund the Authority?”
Dr. Collins Badu, President of the Ghana Psychiatric Association, supports requests to assign the levies to the Mental Health Authority and suggests taking immediate action to improve mental health services.
“I’m sure this will reposition our healthcare service delivery so that we can have total health rather than just physical health. Let’s reroute it to a 1% Mental Health Service levy.” If it can help close the 90% treatment gap that Ghanaians are experiencing, then why scrap it?
Many of our young people are letting behavioral addictions and overindulgence in internet use take hold of them, negatively impacting their mental health. We have a tonne of work ahead of us. This tax can fund human resource development and research to help determine our objectives so that we can focus our efforts on Ghana’s developmental agenda, the speaker said.
In addition to receiving money from the government, the Authority currently bases a large portion of its operations on its Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
