Inclusive Family Alliance Urges Passage of Disability Bill, Caregiver Support on National Disability Day

The Inclusive Family Alliance has called for urgent national attention to caregivers and families of persons with disabilities, alongside the speedy passage of the re-enacted Persons with Disabilities Bill as Ghana marks National Disability Day 

The Alliance said caregivers remain the backbone of disability inclusion, yet their needs are often overlooked in public policy. 

A statement issued by the Inclusive Family Alliance copied to the Ghana News Agency said that families provide the first and most consistent source of care, emotional support, advocacy, rehabilitation and protection for many children and adults living with disabilities, and that when caregivers are unsupported, the impact is felt not only by families but by persons with disabilities themselves. 

It urged that supporting persons with disabilities must include supporting those who care for them daily especially mothers, fathers and caregivers of children living with cerebral palsy and other disabilities, who often carry enormous physical, emotional, financial and social responsibilities with little structured support. 

The Inclusive Family Alliance reiterated its advocacy priorities, including the full implementation of disability-inclusive laws and programmes, recognition of caregivers and families as essential stakeholders, targeted interventions to address caregiver needs such as mental health and psychosocial support, respite care, inclusive education, access to healthcare and rehabilitation services, social protection and economic empowerment, as well as stronger national attention to the realities of families raising children with cerebral palsy and other developmental and physical disabilities. 

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Founder and Executive Director of Inclusive Family Alliance, and mother of a 13-year-old girl living with cerebral palsy, underscored that disability policy cannot be effective if it only addresses one part of the lived reality. “Families and caregivers are not peripheral to the disability conversation; they are central to it,” she said. 

“We must build a future where persons with disabilities can thrive, and where the families and caregivers who support them are also seen, heard and supported,” it added. 

National Disability Day in Ghana is observed annually on June 23 to spotlight disability rights, inclusion, and the need for stronger legal and policy frameworks. 

June 23 was chosen as Ghana’s National Disability Day because it marks the anniversary of the passage of the Persons with Disability Act (Act 715) in 2006. 

Source: GNA