The Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare on behalf of the Government of Ghana wish to celebrate the United Nations Day for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and acknowledge their contribution to national growth and development.
Persons With Disabilities the world over are faced on a daily basis with difficulties and as such the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Employment & Social Welfare has expedited action to ameliorate the needs of our brothers and sisters.
The Ministry is committed to achieving all eight MDGs specified by the United Nations.
In this regard the Ministry has been reaching out to the extremely poor and physically disabled in districts across the country through the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme of the National Social Protection Strategy.
I am also happy to announce the approval of cabinet for the National Ageing Policy which was developed by the Ministry in close collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund, HelpAge Ghana, Pension Associations, SSNIT, Ghana Medical Association, the Ministry of Health, Ghana Registered Nurses Association and other relevant stakeholders. We are particularly grateful to the UNFPA for their financial support for the development of the Policy.
As regards the creation of an effective legal/policy framework for the protection of the rights of PWDs and the promotion of their socio-economic well-being, I am again, happy to inform you that Cabinet has given approval for the ratification of the United Nations (U.N) Convention on Persons with Disability.
Following this, the Convention will be presented to Parliament in due course and subsequently the ratification document will be sent to the United Nations.
In order to enforce the Persons with Disability Act and other International Conventions, Government has established the National Council for Persons with Disabilities and its secretariat to provide policy direction on issues of disability.
The Ministry would once again wish to entreat all Ghanaians to join us in our fight against the stigmatization of PWDs. It is evident that given the needed support, we would have more individuals like Madam Victoria Kisseh (Best Physically Challenged Farmer – Greater Accra Region) contribute their quota to national development.
Hon. E.T. Mensah(MP)
Minister for Employment & Social Welfare
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