Africa’s first employee mental health and wellbeing advocacy organization, MentaPulse Africa is holding the maiden Ghana Health and Labor Summit, focused on tackling the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
The event happening in Ghana’s capital, Accra, brings together policymakers, labor unions, health associations and advocates as well as members of academia and seeks to confront the intersection of workplace culture and employee wellbeing.
Founder and Executive Director of MentaPulse Africa, Manuel Koranteng says the summit being held on October 9, seeks to create a favorable working environment for Ghana’s employees.
“What we want to do at MentaPulse Africa is to make sure that employers, with the backing of government, are empowered to make sure that employees have a congenial environment to be able to work,C he noted.
According to the 2024 Health Policy and Systems, NCDs such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease now account for over 43% of deaths in Ghana, with workplace stress and unhealthy work environments contributing to this risk.
One of Ghana’s largest referral hospitals, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has recently also reported that in the first half of 2025, more than 5,000 diabetes, 2,300 kidney and 2,800 heart cases were recorded, signaling a significant surge in NCDs.
Koranteng says the high-level policy dialogue with working sessions, and sector-specific panels seeks to bring employee mental wellbeing on the front burner and reduce the risk of NCDs among Ghana’s workforce.
“Ghana is apparently the third most stressful place to work in sub–Saharan Africa, which is incredible, especially for a country that is moving towards a 24-hour economy. And then also, for a country that is building up on what has been largely reported as an economic meltdown,” he noted.
