Many young people with disabilities have dropped out of school due to the inaccessibility of educational facilities in Ghana, says Madam Theodora Williams Anti, Executive Director, Foundation for Security and Development in Africa, reports Ghana News.
“We know that as per the Disability Act, all public institutions and buildings must be made accessible. Educational facilities in this country are not accessible to young people with disabilities. There are many young people with disabilities who have dropped out of school because they do not have the facilities for their education,” she said.
Madam Anti said this at the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) workshop on Youth with Disability, an event that brought together CSOs, and stakeholders to discuss the challenges youth living with disabilities faced.
She said they also faced challenges accessing healthcare, saying they had no one to communicate to when they visited health centres.
“They have no one to help them share their concerns with medical officers, let alone understand the medicines they have to take and all that,” she added.
Mrs Anti said the youth with disability were not mobilised, making it difficult for them to be identified among the persons with disabilities group for their specific needs to be addressed.
She said this made them very marginalized, especially those not educated, compared to other persons with disabilities.
“The way forward is for us to get policies, planning, and more youth-focused CSOs, especially to plan for young people with disability, both at the community and government levels. And to plan for youth with disability more. Because as it stands now, they are just not catered for,” she added.
