In an effort towards addressing mental health challenges among Ghanaian women, Her Royal Highness (HRH) Lady Julia Osei Tutu, officially cut sod for the establishment of the Lady Julia Eve Women’s Wellness and Mental Health Centre at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Teaching Hospital Site on Sunday, 25th February 2024.
Cutting the sod for the start of the Project, Her Royal Highness Lady Julia Osei Tutu, the Consort of His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene and Chancellor of KNUST was joined by stakeholders and partners of the project.
The Chairperson for the ceremony, Dr. Ruth Owusu-Antwi, in her opening remarks, indicated that reports have shown that one out of four persons, particularly, females have mental issues, thus, the need to set up the Centre to address mental health concerns to ensure a healthier and more fulfilling life. She added that the project would not only benefit women but serve the entire humanity. She called on stakeholders, philanthropists, and organisations to support the project.
Hon. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister for Education of the Republic of Ghana, expressed excitement about the project and lauded the initiative by HRH Lady Julia. He noted that with the support of the Government, the number of girls at the secondary school level keeps increasing, hence, having the project situated in KNUST is a worthy cause. He assured to inform the President about the project set to serve the community and humanity at large.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson expressed deep appreciation and gratitude on behalf of the Management of KNUST for siting the project at the University Campus. She praised HRH Lady Julia for spearheading such a resourceful Centre to promote teaching, learning and research. She said that through the Centre, there will be capacity building and training of workforce to improve the quality of life and humanity.
Mrs. Karen Halm, the Architect for the project, took stakeholders through a virtual tour of the proposed facility. She disclosed that the proposed facility is designed to enable Ghanaians to have free access to appropriate mental health services and ultimately mitigate stigmatisation surrounding mental health.
Solidarity messages were received from partners and sponsors including the KGL Foundation who supported the project with an amount of Two million US Dollars ($2,000,000) and the Chief Executive Officer of SG Mall, Nana Semanhyia also donated an amount of Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GhȻ50,000) towards the project.