News
‘A listening ear, healing balm for mental patients’
The Founder and President of Trust Jesus Mental Health Foundation (TJMHF) has called on Ghanaians to give a listening ear to people suffering from mental illness.
She indicated that active listening is a powerful clinical tool that “reduces stress, offers greater trust and improvement in their health conditions.”
Madam Mary Wormenor made this call when members of the TJMHF presented some food items to patients at the Pantang Hospital as part of the Foundation’s efforts to show love to patients of mental health institutions in Ghana.
Madam Wormenor observed that listening done well could be more healing than any clinical technique, and that “people who feel heard are 40 per cent likely to seek professional help later on because they know their struggles are valid.”
The Patron of TJMHF, Dr Mrs Adelaide Ferguson, asked government to reconsider the cost of treatment of mental illness in Ghana since the amounts clients paid was on the high side, and that “may push majority of mentally challenged people to the streets.”
Dr Mrs Ferguson, who is also the Women’s Ministry Director of the Meridian Ghana Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, said, “The big surprise was to know that they have to purchase their own drugs which are very expensive, yet such persons may not have capacity to pay.”
She, therefore, advocated for free mental health treatment as a measure of ensuring a smooth mental health delivery in Ghana.
TJMHF visits mental homes every year to assist in mental health delivery.
The visit to Pantang was the seventh outreach of the foundation since its inception in 2019.
The project, dubbed “Smile on a person with Mental illness,” takes place every December, leading the foundation to visit all the psychiatric institutions in the country.
The Mission of Trust Jesus Mental Health Foundation provides relief to persons with mental illness through benevolence and the saving knowledge of Christ.
Its vision is to be the hub for championing mental health care in Africa and beyond. In recognition of efforts of the Foundation, the president of TJMHF was awarded Triumph Mental Health Champion of the year 2025 at the just-ended Triumph Women’s Awards.
Receiving the items, a Senior Nursing Officer at Pantang Hospital, Madam Florence Okpoti, thanked the foundation for the donation, saying efforts impacted positively on health delivery. –GNA
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
The Speaker of the Algerian Parliament, Mr. Azouz Nasri, has arrived in Accra to take part in the Next Steps High-Level Consultative Conference on the implementation of the landmark United Nations Resolution on the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans.
He was received at the Jubilee Lounge, Kotoka International Airport, by Ghana’s First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor.
The 3-day conference runs from June 17–19, 2026 in Accra. It will bring together parliamentary leaders, diplomats, civil society, and other key stakeholders to reflect on the implications of the UN Resolution for Africans and people of African descent worldwide.
Organisers say the meeting is aimed at advancing a coordinated global framework to strengthen advocacy around the Resolution and provide practical guidance for its implementation across member states.
The Resolution is described as a historic step toward acknowledging the transatlantic slave trade and addressing its lasting impact, with this conference marking one of the first high-level efforts to move it from declaration to action.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Aspiring National Chairman for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Awentami Paul Afoko, has stated that the party has a unique opportunity to annex power in the 2028 elections.
According to him, the one person who has been on Ghana’s ballot paper for several elections will not be on the ballot paper in the 2028 elections, paving the way for the NPP to properly market its flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is already a formidable force to reckon with and will go ahead to win the polls.
He argued that voters already know him, he’s battle-tested and ready to win.
He reiterated that the NPP will have a well-marketed candidate in the 2028 election and just as the party did in 2016 when it annexed power from a sitting government, the same can be done.
The Former NPP National Chairman, however, noted that this can be possible if the NPP unites as a unit and approach the elections with all the seriousness it deserves to ensure that its quest for victory does not become a mirage.
Mr Awentami Paul Afoko made this known when he met with Regional Executives, Patrons and Elders of the party in the Volta, Oti and Eastern Regions yesterday.
“For the first time we have a unique opportunity. At the time I put the New Plan for Power in place, we knew that the sitting president could go again and if he won another term, we would sit in opposition for twelve years.
We had to put a plan in place to make sure we come to power and we came to power. This time around, he will not be on the ballot paper and this offers us a unique opportunity, but without unity we will not get there,” he stated.
“As for unity, it is not negotiable. You can’t sit here and look at the lady sitting next to you and say I don’t like her so we can’t work together. We are working together for power, and if we let emotions get in the way, we lose” he said.
“Those of you who are old enough to remember Muhammad Ali the boxer, he is in the ring with you, he’s talking and calling you names then you get emotional and he takes advantage. Emotions won’t give us power. I didn’t get anything so I won’t support; no, let that go because it is in the past,” he noted.
Afoko, who is pushing his 3R Agenda of Reunite, Rebuild, and Recapture power, said the party must adopt a clear message to win back the confidence of Ghanaians and believes, with Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, whom he described as the right candidate will guarantee the NPP victory in the 2028 polls.
“For years I chose to work quietly behind the scenes, supporting the NPP in private,” Afoko said.
“But recent developments have compelled me to step forward. We need to get our party back into winning ways, and that starts with unity of purpose,” Afoko reiterated.
He framed the upcoming period as a test of whether NPP politics would mature or remain stuck in cycles of blame, but was optimistic that everyone who loves the party would come on board to realize the goal of making Dr Mahamudu Bawumia the next President of Ghana.
By: Jacob Aggrey
