Abstract
Developing countries in Africa and other regions share a similar profile of insufficient human resources for mental health, poor funding, a high unmet need for services and a low official prioritisation of mental health. This situation is worsened by misconceptions about the causes of mental disorders, stigma and discrimination that frequently result in harmful practices against persons with mental illness. Previous explorations of the required response to these challenges have identified the need for strong leadership and consistent advocacy as potential drivers of the desired change. The Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy Program (mhLAP) is a project that aims to provide and enhance the acquisition of skills in mental health leadership, service development, advocacy and policy planning and to build partnerships for action. Launched in 2010 to serve the Anglophone countries of The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, this paper describes the components of the program, the experience gained since its initiation, and the achievements made during the three years of its implementation. These achievements include: 1) the annual training in mental health leadership and advocacy which has graduated 96 participants from 9 different African countries and 2) the establishment of a broad coalition of service user groups, non-governmental organizations, media practitioners and mental health professionals in each participating country to implement concerted mental health advocacy efforts that are focused on country-specific priorities
Highlights
The five Anglophone West African countries of The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone share similar mental health profiles with each other and with many other low- and middle-income countries, with low policy priority for mental health, poor funding, inadequate human resources for mental health, widespread misconception about mental health issues, stigmatization and human rights abuses [1,2,3,4,5]
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have been active in the area of mental health in West Africa, such as CBM (Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo) and Basic Needs (Ghana) have been involved in the training workshops to share experiences and strengthen collaborative networks
In almost all of the countries involved, this was the first time that such stakeholders have had an opportunity to inform the national agenda with respect to mental health in a systematic and evidence-based manner
Summary
The five Anglophone West African countries of The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone share similar mental health profiles with each other and with many other low- and middle-income countries, with low policy priority for mental health, poor funding, inadequate human resources for mental health, widespread misconception about mental health issues, stigmatization and human rights abuses [1,2,3,4,5]. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have been active in the area of mental health in West Africa, such as CBM (Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo) and Basic Needs (Ghana) have been involved in the training workshops (as well as in program consultative meetings) to share experiences and strengthen collaborative networks. Salient achievements The mhLAP demonstrates a pragmatic and contextspecific model for developing capacity for mental health leadership and advocacy across several countries It is efficient and cost-effective, as it uses the expertise and resources of a centre of excellence in West Africa and global mental health experts while building on the capacities and local knowledge of people with a commitment to promoting change in their own contexts. Despite the difficulties in measuring change and attribution to advocacy, the overall picture in the five member countries is still one of positive but slow change
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