Regulate activities of prayer camps

Saturday, August 9, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
A study on activities in prayer camps and access to mental health in Ghana has revealed that violations of the rights of people with mental problems are rife in these camps.
It has, therefore, recommended the regulation of the operations of prayer camps in the country.
According to the study, since prayer camps would continue to attract people, it is important that mechanisms are put in place to guarantee standard operating procedures where the basic rights of the individual are respected.
It also recommended that campaigns on the importance of seeing mental health as a psychological problem needing clinical attention rather than a spiritual one could help increase awareness and knowledge of appropriate sources of treatment.
On why the need for the study, the Regional Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa Office, Nana Oye Lithur, said the growth of prayer camps in the country was overwhelming and there had been an upsurge of reports of abuses in these camps.
She noted that prayer camps were now competing with healthcare service providers for the treatment of all manner of mental disorders including depression, bipolar and schizophrenia.
Another reason was that many medical provisions for persons with mental illness was hugely insufficient and thus many people resorted to traditional prayer camps rather than medical institutions.
The CHRI thus commissioned an independent survey to study the activities of residential prayer camps in the Central, Volta and Greater Accra regions where the camps are predominantly located.
The study revealed that the rights of many inmates are violated in the camps and this occurs under the pretence that spiritual solutions are being provided for what are deemed to be spiritual problems.
Additionally, it came to light that inhumane living conditions, locked rooms, chaining, and physical and verbal abuse were endured by inmates on a daily basis.
“Nonetheless these camps continue to have high patronage,” the report said.
For instance, the report said a common feature of all the camps visited in the Central Region was the existence of chains or prison-like rooms used more often as a means of carrying out treatment than as a means of restraining patients.
"Inmates are either chained to trees (sometimes overnight) or locked in rooms under the pretext of driving out the evil spirit in them. In addition to this, inmates are sometimes beaten," the study said.
Some of the pastors said by beating the patients, the evil spirit that had taken control was forced to leave.
Other methods of healing were long prayer sessions and fasting (by inmates or a member of their family).
At the Edumfa Prayer Camp, it was noted that inmates were made to run around a temple as part of the healing process before commencement of prayers.
According to the report, although there were differences in the factors that drove people to the prayer camps, stigmatisation and the belief that mental illnesses were spiritual problems were always a common source of attraction.