Table 5 Summary findings: BasicNeeds- GHS partnership

Region of location

Northern

- Initiated by BasicNeeds in 2002 with formal MOU signed in 2009.

- BasicNeeds provides funding from external donors and international NGOs such as European Union – Brussels, DFID, African Women Development Fund and Comic Relief, UK for supporting: 1) psychiatric nurses’ allowances; 2) fuelling of GHS vehicles for outreach services; 3) procurement of psychotropic medicines; 4) cost of hiring psychiatrists from the southern part of the country for outreach services in the north; 5) training of community-based volunteers in disease surveillance, basic symptom recognition and case search; 6) livelihood activities of the mentally-ill and their families and 7) empirical research evidence for its advocacy work and efforts to integrate traditional healers, users of services, and caregivers of the mentally- ill into the national PHC system.

- GHS supports with existing government health facilities (hospitals/health centres/clinics/psychiatric units), personnel, vehicles and occasional funding.

- As a mental health advocate, BasicNeeds achieves its objectives through relations that are sought and established with various state organizations such as, the MOH, GHS at the national level, while working with community psychiatric nurses in health centres and district hospital at the PHC level.

- Partners hold periodic review meetings to evaluate performance and promote continuous self- improvement.

- BasicNeeds shares information such as research findings on mental health issues, brochures and picture books that show images and the conditions of the mentally- ill, with government partners and the public through the electronic and print media to create awareness of this country’s mental health situation.

- Increased government awareness of mental illness and mental health issues;

- Increased government support for mental health care: infrastructure and human resources (trained psychiatric doctors and nurses, clinical psychologists and social workers;

- Awareness creation and promotion of societal interest in the treatment and stabilization of the mentally-ill

- Source of credibility and legitimacy for BasicNeeds

- Delays associated with cumbersome government bureaucracy in procuring psychotropic medicines from GHS;

- GHS’ slow progress made to date in integrating mental health services into PHC services.

Interviews conducted

2 NGO

2 GHS

Driver of Collaboration

Baseline study revealed high burden of mental illness/

Epilepsy;

- inadequate access to government mental health services.

Time Frame

2002-to date