As the world marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2023, attention is drawn to the ongoing challenges of individuals with disabilities in Ghana, particularly in accessing educational materials.
This day, observed annually on December 3 aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development.
This year’s commemoration of the day is under the theme: “United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities”,
In Ghana, individuals with disabilities continue to encounter significant obstacles in their pursuit of education.
A recent report highlights that students with disabilities face a critical shortage of accessible educational materials and facilities.
Vice chairman for the Ghana Disability Alliance, Elias Kodelogo said the huge challenge remains the inadequate disability schools well equipped in the country to handle their needs.
This gap according to him, not only hinders their academic progress but also limits their future opportunities in a country striving for inclusive development.
He said they are always left behind simply because they do not have access to the right resources
To avert the situation, Mr. Kodelogo called on the government to remove import duties on brails for the visually impaired to enhance their access to quality education in the country.
Speaking to ATLFMNEWS, he pointed out that braille paper, hand frame, pecking, and braille among others are costly because the government has slapped import duties on them, making it difficult to even acquire them for our educational endeavours.
“A packet of braille paper, which was ten cedis some years back, is now almost 150 cedis. A Perkins Brailler is above a thousand Ghana cedis. A hand frame is almost 100 cedis. This is just unthinkable as compared to our sighted colleagues who can buy an exercise book for less than five cedis and a pen for less than three cedis,” he continued.
Vice chairman for the Ghana Disability Alliance said this educational gap is further exacerbated by limited social integration, leaving many isolated and marginalized.
He further cited unemployment as another problem facing persons with disabilities because of preconceived notions.
To him, there are brilliant ideas capable of transforming the lives of PWDs and those ideas should be put into action.
“Then, Ghana is a signatory to a lot of treaties like the Marrakesh Treaty and the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability. All of these are documents that, when truly implemented, can bring about the changes we desire in society,” he added.
In a message to mark the day, UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner said with the 2030 ‘finish line’ now on the horizon, just 15% of SDG targets are on track in the wake of multiple crises.
“The 1.3 billion persons with disabilities worldwide are amongst those who are most negatively affected by this limited progress includes continued exclusion from public goods and services and high levels of discrimination,” he continued.
He said as the world marks the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there is a need to heed the call of the disability movement.
He said producing better data on disability inclusion is vital to delivering the greatest impact.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities serves as a reminder that while progress has been made, much work remains to be done to achieve an inclusive and equitable society for persons with disabilities in Ghana and around the world.
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Source: ATLFMNEWS
