Organisations of Persons with Disabilities have called on the Cabinet to urgently approve the revised Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2026, describing it as an opportunity to align Ghana’s laws with international human rights obligations.
The approval would also safeguard the dignity of over 2.1 million citizens living with disabilities in Ghana.
At a presser in Accra, leaders of the disability movement expressed gratitude to the media for amplifying the voices of vulnerable groups but lamented that 20 years after the passage of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006 (Act 715), the realities of persons with disabilities remain marked by exclusion and systemic barriers.
The press conference, addressed by Mrs. Hannah Awadzi, the Executive Director of Inclusive Family Alliance, was convened by the Ghana National Association of the Deaf, under the Global Disability Fund Joint Programme and in solidarity with the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, Inclusion Ghana, Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled, Ghana Blind Union, Inclusive Family Alliance, Mental Health Society of Ghana, and allied groups.
Mrs. Awadzi cited persistent challenges, including limited access to inclusive education, inadequate learning materials, inaccessible health services, stigma in healthcare settings, systemic exclusion from employment opportunities, inaccessible public transportation, absence of sign language interpretation in public services and barriers to accessing justice.
She said: “Section 60 of Act 715 required all public buildings to be made accessible within ten years of its commencement. That deadline was 2016. It is now 2026, and compliance remains abysmal.”
She added that weak enforcement mechanisms and minimal penalties had fostered widespread non-compliance.
The revised Bill, according to the organisations, introduces stronger protections against discrimination, enforceable accessibility standards, and robust monitoring and accountability frameworks.
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They stressed that its passage is not a matter of charity but of law, justice, and constitutional duty.
The disability community therefore demanded Cabinet’s approval without delay, prioritisation of the Bill in Parliament and adequate resourcing of the National Council on Persons with Disability.
They also reiterated calls for the Council to be elevated to a Commission to ensure independence and effective oversight.
“To every Member of Parliament, irrespective of political affiliation, we say: the distance between ‘DIS’ and ‘ABILITY’ is less than one inch. Disability is a human condition; it does not discriminate. Its timely passage is a moral imperative to protect rights and ensure no Ghanaian is left behind,” Mrs. Awadzi declared.
The Disability Organisations urged Civil Society Organisations, Development Partners, Faith-Based Organisations, Traditional Authorities, Professional Bodies, and the Private Sector to join the national call to ensure the Bill’s passage.
They also urged the media to sustain coverage of disability rights issues, hold duty-bearers accountable, and promote accurate portrayals of persons with disabilities.
“Nothing about us without us,” the presser concluded.
Source: GNA
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