Prayer camps are religious institutions for as an alternative for hospitals for a variety of ailments in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, and
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
. Methods such as being chained up or fasting are used.
Beliefs
Ghana is said to be "the most religious society in the world" (''
Religion in Ghana
Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the country's population being member of various Christian denominations as of 2021 census. Most Ghanaian Christians belong to Protestant denominations, especially Pentecostalism. How ...
)'', with 96% of the population identifying with a particular spiritual belief.
Mental illness is seen as caused by curses or demons. The only perceived solution to this problem is through spiritual healing, like prayer, with only minimal medical help being applied, such as through medication being given to patients.
A 2016 Yale University study showed that both prayer camp prophets and staff and psychiatric hospital mental health professionals show interest at the idea of collaboration. Specifically, prayer camp staff are interested in help with the provision and use of medication, as well as improving the hygiene and infrastructure of prayer camps. However, prayer camp staff are highly opposed to medical explanations of mental illness, instead preferring spiritual and traditional explanations, while mental health and medical staff are concerned with the practice of extended chainings and fastings. Furthermore, despite the importance of long-term medication use in patient recovery, prayer camp staff only endorse its use over short periods.
[Arias D, Taylor L, Ofori-Atta A, Bradley EH (2016) Prayer Camps and Biomedical Care in Ghana: Is Collaboration in Mental Health Care Possible? PLoS ONE 11(9): e0162305. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162305]
See also
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Spirit children
A spirit child in Ghana is a disabled child who is believed to possess magical powers to cause misfortune. Disability in Ghana is greatly stigmatized and the only way considered acceptable to deal with the problem is to kill them via advice by a ...
, disabled children in Ghana
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Witch camp
Witch camps are settlements where women in Ghana who have been accused of being witches can flee for safety. Women in such camps have been accused of witchcraft for various reasons, including mental illness. Some camps are thought to have been cr ...
, Ghana
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Health in Ghana
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Disability in Ghana
References
Society of Ghana
Healthcare in Ghana
Religion in Ghana
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