Youth Minister Flags Mental Health Crisis at ECOSOC Forum, Touts ‘Red Means Stop’ Campaign
The Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, has spotlighted the growing mental health challenges facing Ghanaian youth during an address at the 2026 ECOSOC Youth Forum.
Speaking to delegates, the Minister said young people in Ghana are confronting urgent pressures ranging from academic stress to a rising tide of substance abuse, with limited access to support services compounding the problem.
“I delivered another address highlighting the urgent mental health challenges confronting young people in Ghana today,” Opare Addo reported in a Facebook post, calling for coordinated action across education, health, and community systems.
He outlined steps the government was taking to respond, led by the “Red Means Stop” campaign.
The initiative is intensifying advocacy for on-campus counselling services and strengthening peer support networks in senior high schools and tertiary institutions.
The campaign also works to break stigma surrounding mental health by promoting open conversations and equipping students, teachers, and youth leaders with tools to identify and respond to early warning signs.
Opare Addo stressed that interventions must go beyond awareness to provide “practical, lasting solutions,” including trained counsellors, referral pathways, and safe spaces for young people to seek help without fear of discrimination.
He urged international partners and youth-led organisations to share best practices and support the scale-up of school-based mental health programmes across Ghana.
The ECOSOC Youth Forum brings together ministers, youth delegates, and civil society to shape policy on issues affecting young people globally.
Mental health, skills, and decent jobs have featured prominently in this year’s agenda.
The Ministry said “Red Means Stop” will be expanded this year in partnership with the Ghana Health Service, guidance and counselling units, and campus-based groups to reach more students and apprentices.
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