Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Hosts Mental Health Debate – 2017
The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Mental Health Authority (MHA) has held a Mental Health Debate. The 7th Inter-Medical School Public Speaking Competition was hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Competing medical schools were from KNUST, the University of Ghana (UG), University of Development Studies (UDS) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The event held with support from the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, University of Alberta, UKaid and St. Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin and was on the theme: “Suicidality, Risk and Criminalization of Attempted Survivors in Ghana”.
Opening the competition, Dr. Akwasi Osei, Chief Executive Officer of MHA, revealed that the competition is an initiative of Professor Vincent Agyapong to arouse interest in medical students in psychiatry to build confidence as well as increase awareness of mental issues.
Dr. Osei said with occurrences of suicide cases this year and with as much as 200 calls a day on a suicide helpline, how best do we handle suicide identity issues. He continued that with 1,500 cases of suicide reported four of every cases remain unreported. The platform was therefore a good one to discuss suicide and mental issues.
In the end with 86 points, the University of Ghana Medical School emerged winners, followed by UCC with 84 points. KNUST placed third with 81 points and UDS, was fourth with 78 points.
The UG Team who emerged winners, will visit the St. Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin for their internship. Professor Vincent Agyapong is the sponsor of the award. In presenting the awards, Professor Agyapong called on stakeholders to pay critical attention to mental heal and related issues.
He said, with 17 psychiatrists currently practicing in Ghana, his way of giving back to society is to help expose medical students to training trough the internships among other personal efforts. The event was under the able chairmanship of Professor Daniel Ansong.