SOCIAL HEALTH NEGLECTED

A mentally impaired man roaming the streets

Health, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) definition is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Social well-being or health is a term that refers to the health of a person in reference to his or her ability to interact with others and thrive in social settings. It can also refer to the health of a society in general, and how the members of that society are treated and how they behave towards each other. Along with physical health and mental health, social health is vital for the health of a person.
Physical and mental health typically deal with an individual and how well his or her body and mind are functioning and keeping his or her various systems running properly. Social health, on the other hand, often indicates how that person interacts with other people, as well as the consequences or benefits of such interactions in relation to the well-being of that person.

  Here in Ghana, the major concern is health and safety. By the definition of WHO, people have the right of access to decent accommodation. Here is the case where people live in slums, have poor drainage systems, poor sanitation, food sold near drainage and due to the high cost of renting houses, a couple with three or more kids share a single room. Also the head porters locally known as “kayayei” who do not have decent places to stay and are abused sexually by men just to pass the night in front of shops in markets. Hence a social health issue. Another issue is the transportation systems and the health side of it. 
Vehicles are supposed to have adequate leg room and sitting space but most commercial vehicles especially the “trotro or troski” do not. People are packed and sometimes good ventilation in the vehicle is not assured.
In the past, all family members lived in the same house and there was the existence of good interactions and things were done together. This kind of togetherness and interactions helped reduce depression. But what do we see now? There is the degeneration of African culture. The switch from a compound house concept to a nuclear family house concept is on the rise.  That is where a couple of two or three kids live in a live in a big walled house. Marriage related issues are not interacted as compared to the stay in compound houses. The risk of depression goes higher. And when people get frustrated, suicide cases can increase. According to Citifmonline.com, over a year a total of 1,556 suicide cases were recorded in the country and surveys conducted shows that more than five people commit suicide daily in Ghana. Mostly these suicides are due to social and economic problems.

A man begging

However, there was the department of social health which was to take care of social health. Now the coming in of Women’s And Juvenile Unit (WAJU) and Domestic Violence and Victim’s Support Unit (DOVSU) that deals with domestic violence and other criminal activities. Social health goes beyond domestic violence and most social needs are not taken care of. There can be good hospitals but without a sound mind, the health of a person is not secured. Stress levels going up due to economic problems such as debts and financial institutions repossessing houses or other properties used as collateral rendering families homeless. These sends some kind of trauma to the families and with the absence of income support from the government as compared to the western countries where one can have at least a day support from the government. So there is the need to take care of the social aspect of health so as people will not go into prostitution and other social vices.

Thus, Social health should be considered of great importance in regards to individual health and the society at large, especially as further information and research has established how social interactions and care can assist in improving other forms of health.