The Executive Secretary of the National Council on Persons with Disability Madam Esther Akua Gyamfi said Ghana should implement decentralization so that the country can represent fully with the United Nations on the Rights of Persons with Disability.
The workshop was attended by some key Departments of the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly (ONMA). This included the Social Welfare and Community Development, Municipal Education Directorate, Information Services and National Commission on Civic Education.
The program was organized by the National Council for Persons with Disability (NCPD) under the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection with the theme “Sensitization of Ghana Accessibility Standard on Built Environment”.
It was held on the 4th July, 2019 at the Sun Lodge Hotel in Tesano within the Okaikwei North Municipality.
The workshop was also attended by participants from different Municipal Assemblies. These included the Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Ablekuma Central Municipal Assembly and the Health Service Administrator from the Achimota Hospital as well as a representative from Dansoman Polyclinic.
According to Madam Esther Akua Gyamfi the Executive Secretary for the National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD), the objectives of the sensitization, flows from the fact that Ghana needs to implement decentralization system. The essence of decentralization is to ensure that Ghana achieves the UN international agenda on persons with disability.
She added that: “United Nations Convention on Right of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) requires that, Ghana submit a periodical report. Fortunately, Ghana submitted its initial report early last year (2019).”
Madam E. A. Gyamfi continued that the essence of the meeting is to sensitize the stakeholders so that they can actually harness the potentials of persons with disability and not to be left behind in the society. For this reason, the District Assemblies are the key stakeholders.
The office of NCPD will make it clear what is expected from the Assemblies before a follow up will be made. Again, questionnaires will be administered to find out, to what extent have the Assemblies included persons with disability into their programs and projects.
The Programs Manager at the Ghana Federation of Disability, Mr. Fred Ofosu explained that the Law on Persons with Disability act 715 in 2016 states that, physical, mental, sensory and visual impairment gives rights to the disable on physical, cultural and social barriers.
According to him, when disability is mentioned, then people points out social welfare. But they are not the only institutions for the disable.
He emphasized that the UNs CRPD does not close the path on the definition of disability. It includes those who have gone through physical, mental intermodal sense impairment and various barriers in society.
“Disability is not inability, therefore, we can do things in different ways to achieve different results.” – Mr. Fred Ofosu.
Mr. Salimu Mohammed, from the Pru West District and a representative from Ghana Federation of Disability also stressed that access to buildings is a major problem for the persons with disability. This phenomenon places a lot of burden in the lives and environment of persons living with disability so the question he asked was, are we living up to the task?.
“The purpose is to provide specifications for policy makers, implementers and service providers to ensure quality in indiscrimination of services in the built environment.” He stated.
According to the Circuit Supervisor and Representative on Education from ONMA, Madam Juliana Ivy Agyekwena also enlightened the gathering on some measures put in place by the Government specifically in the educational sector. She said, Ghana’s educational training centres and colleges have been expanded to train more teachers on disability cases as well as the classrooms environment be disability friendly.
Edited: ZIPWEB
Source: GHANA/ onmaonline.com
