Making the Invisible Visible in the District Assembly Common Fund

Mental health affects all aspects of life, yet it is a neglected area in disability policy in Ghana. Investing in and prioritising mental health can have transformative effects on economic growth and the health and well-being of a population that can potentially enhance the health and well-being of individuals and communities, protect human rights, and improve economic efficiency.

Since the inception of our Ghana Somubi Dwumadie (Ghana Participation Programme), a four-year UKAid funded disability programme in Ghana, with a specific focus on mental health, there has been significant progress in making what was previously invisible, visible.

Previously, there was very little conversation around explicit inclusion of people with mental health conditions in wider disability measures. They were neglected and forgotten in many social protection policies and interventions targeted at persons with disability. There are several reasons for this which could be associated with stigma and discrimination, even with the community of disability groups and organisations.

Until recently, people with mental health conditions were not consistently seen as targeted recipients of Ghana’s District Assembly Common Fund (Disability Fund component) because mental health was not perceived to be of high importance or a priority for policy intervention.

To address this, Ghana Somubi Dwumadie has been supporting the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, to develop a user-led and inclusive approach to the review of the guidelines for the management and disbursement of the District Assembly Common Fund. Together we also made a compelling case for the inclusion of mental health in this important social intervention policy.

The collaborative approach -built capacity for meaningful and productive engagement and empowered organisations working with, and for persons with disability, to team up to influence the inclusion of mental health in the policy. Our work explicitly linked mental health to the disability component of the District Assembly Common Fund.

The wind of policy transformation is now being felt. The programme’s efforts have helped to make the previously invisible, visible, and changed the narrative, enabling people with mental health conditions in Ghana to claim their rights.

You can read the programme’s evidence-based review of the District Assembly Common Fund Guidelines here and the investment case in mental health here.