Post colonial psychiatric care in Ghana

The development of psychiatric care in Ghana since the colonial era in the 19th century, up to the present, is described. Distorted planning and limited accessibility to psychiatric services in many parts of the country, coupled with shortage of trained staff of all grades (including psychiatrists and nurses) plus inadequate funding, have adversely affected the establishment of a fully comprehensive psychiatric service. Suggestions for improving services into the 21st century are briefly discussed.