The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) is demanding concrete actions to address the real needs of Persons with Disability (PWDs) who continue to suffer societal injustice.
The organisation believes that its members have been neglected in policy making and even those formulated to safeguard their rights have become mere rhetoric.
Mr Andrew Minkah Gyimah, the Ashanti Regional President of the Federation, said PWDs continued to struggle to access most public facilities, 17 years after the passage of the Disability Act (Act 715), which made it mandatory for public facilities to be disability-friendly.
He said this at a ceremony in Kumasi to mark the 2023 edition of the International Day of Persons with Disability, on the theme: ‘United in Action to Rescue and Achieve SDGs for, with and by Persons with Disabilities.’
Mr Gyimah did not mince words on the widespread discrimination against PWDs in all societal endeavours, despite having rights just like any other Ghanaian.
‘The treatment being me
ted out to our members leaves much to be desired, but we are also humans with the ability to contribute to national development and must not be treated as outcasts,’ he said.
The time had come for stakeholders, especially duty bearers, to make conscious effort to tackle issues militating against the welfare and development of PWDs across the country, he said.
‘They give assurances of their commitment towards addressing our needs in public, but fail to attend to our concerns in reality as we suffer their negligence.’
Mr Gyimah alleged that some officers of the Department of Social Welfare had been keeping funds meant for PWDs and called on the relevant authorities to check the misappropriation of such funds.
Mr Joseph Atsu, the National President, GFD, underlined the need for State institutions responsible for the welfare of PWDs to work in line with the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals to improve the lives of the vulnerable.
The crux of all the 17 SDGs being championed by the United Nati
ons was to ensure that no one was left behind in global programmes and policies aimed at human development.
That, he said, should be the guiding principle of people entrusted with the responsibility to protect the rights of the vulnerable in society.
Mr Simon Osei Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, said achieving the SDGs was the collective responsibility of all stakeholders desirous of making life comfortable for PWDs.
He charged metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to ensure the effective utilisation of the disability component of the District Assemblies Common Fund to improve the livelihoods of the beneficiaries.
Source: Ghana News Agency