The Current State of Ghana's Disability Policy The Current State of Ghana's Disability Policy

Abstract

This article contributes significantly to the practices in Ghana that aim to alleviate the systemic challenges and opportunities for improving the lives of persons with disabilities (PWDs). This is a survey review paper culled from peer-reviewed articles. After an extensive online search (on Google Scholar, ProQuest, etc.) for articles on current disability programmes and policy, more than 76 articles were downloaded. These included 52 journal articles, 6 book chapters, 7 reports, 1 conference paper, 6 web-based papers, and 2 policy documents. After a careful review, some of them were discarded. The criteria used were that the article must be about disability policy, programmes, and activities in Ghana, either by the central government, non-governmental organisation agencies, or civil society groups. During the analyses, the papers were grouped under the headings presented in this paper. Most of the reviewed articles talked positively about activities, programmes and policy interventions provided in Ghana to the disabled. Some policies in place for PDWs are Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), the National Health Insurance Scheme, the District Assembly Common Fund, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty, free public transportation, disability-friendly public structures, and other support systems from the community. Some recommendations for future studies are the evaluation of the socio-cultural beliefs about PDWs, an assessment of the economic implications of PWD policy interventions and how technology influences the daily life and activities of PWDs.