GFD hails Ghanaians for appreciating disabilities issues

The Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD) has expressed satisfaction over the level of public recognition of matters concerning disability in recent times and condemning individuals and institutions treating persons with disability with contempt.

“We appreciate the people of Ghana for increasingly showing understanding and appreciating situations of disability,” said GFD President, Mr Yaw Ofori-Debrah, in a New Year message.

“We can say [the] disability situation is now better given the massive support extended to Dr. Henry Daannaa's appointment as a minister of state in the face of stiff opposition by some individuals and institutions,” he said.

Mr Ofori-Debrah expressed the hope that government functionaries, service providers and civil society would endeavour to make disability part and parcel of their planning and development policy.

He, however, cautioned that policymakers should not see disability as what he described as after-thought in development process.

The Federation has declared 2015 to 2020 as the period of “aggressive advocacy action” to ensure compliance of the provisions in the Persons with Disability Act (Act 715) and tenets of the United Nations Convention on Right of Persons with Disability.

Mr Ofori-Debrah said: “We will ensure that more education and sensitization is given to existing laws and social interventions so that the public would not be ignorant about them.”

He cautioned that the federation would not hesitate to resort to judicial process to address infractions and negligence of disability laws.