Lack of attention to girls’ mental health costing society their potential – Founder, OPAF
The founder of the One Project Africa Foundation (OPAF), a non-profit organisation focused on empowering women and girls, Victoria Naema Abdulai, has cautioned that mental health is not a luxury but the foundation upon which every girl’s future must be built.
She emphasised that without mental wellness, young girls would continue to struggle silently with learning, dreaming, and relating to others, warning that the lack of attention to girls’ mental health was costing society their potential.
Ms Abdulai was speaking at a mental health awareness session organised by OPAF for students of the Accra Girls Senior High School in Accra.
It was held under the theme: ‘Empowering her mind, voice and power: fostering a resilient tomorrow for the girl child through mental wellness.’
She said the Foundation had come together under the symbol of the “powerful queen” empowering her mind, voice, and power.
“These are not just words, they are the three pillars of resilience: a clear mind, a courageous voice, and a strong sense of self-worth,” she emphasised.
Ms Abdulai referenced the Mental Health Authority of Ghana, which had recorded rising psychological distress among teenage girls linked to academic pressure, family issues, gender-based violence, and isolation.
“And yet, despite the rising need, mental health remains one of the most misunderstood and neglected issues in our society. We teach girls how to pass exams but not how to process pain. We teach them to obey instructions but not how to handle rejection. We are obsessed with excellence but ignore the exhaustion,” she said.
She encouraged students to embrace their emotions and seek help when struggling.
“You are not weak for having emotions. You are human. Seeking help does not make you a failure it makes you courageous,” she added.
Mental Health Practitioner and Addiction Specialist, Esther Kyewaah Opoku, in her presentation underscored that mental health was not separate from general well-being but central to it.
“Without your mental health, you are not healthy,” she mentioned.
She stressed that adolescence is a fragile period, with the brain still developing until age 25.
She warned that one in seven adolescent girls in Ghana had a mental disorder, adding that 26 per cent experience depression, 29.8 per cent emotional distress, and 14.8 per cent suffer trauma or behavioural issues.
Ms Opoku also blamed these conditions on peer pressure, bullying, sexual abuse, and toxic comparisons driven by social media.
“We are sitting on a time bomb,” she stated, urging early intervention and compassion.
According to her, adolescence – the age range between 10 and 19 years was a critical stage of mental and emotional development, during which the executive brain, or forebrain, continues to form until age 25.
“This period is therefore fraught with vulnerabilities that, if unmanaged, can lead to lifelong challenges,” she stressed.
Ms Opoku, therefore, called for compassion, peer support, and continuous education on mental health to break the cycle of silence and stigma, particularly among young girls, saying “Nobody should feel alone or hopeless.”
BY STEPHANIE BIRIKORANG
