The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD), has expressed worry over the continuous delay by the government to amend the country’s current Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), to conform with UN CRPD.
This, it said, hindered its implementation, adding that the situation was derailing efforts at demanding the rights of persons with disabilities to enable them to participate fully as members of mainstream society.
Ghana in 2006, passed the Disability Act, (Act 715), to provide for the rights of persons with disabilities under Article 29 of the 1992 Constitution, to establish a National Council on Disabled Persons to attend to the interests of persons with disabilities and to provide for other related matters, Ghana Web reports.
Ghana signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in 2017, to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and empower them for full social participation.
“The Disability Act was laden with challenges and therefore, not robust enough to stand the test of time, adding that the Act was inconsistent with some provisions of the UN CRPD.” said Mrs Rita Kusi Kyeremaa, Executive Director, GFD.
“The exclusion of inclusive education, provisions on the rights of women with disabilities, provisions on rights of children with disabilities and safety, and security of persons with disabilities in humanitarian situations.”
Therefore, she appealed to government and relevant stakeholders to show more commitment by stepping up their efforts to ensure that the Act was reviewed by the end of the year to actualise its passage.
