Nothing for us without us, say people with disabilities in Ghana

Charles Appiagyei chaired the event

Credit: WaterAid

28 May 2010

People with disabilities in Ghana called for greater involvement in making water and sanitation facilities more accessible at a workshop organised by WaterAid in Ghana in collaboration with the National Council of Persons with Disability (NCPD).

The workshop gave stakeholders at the frontline of delivering public services in water and sanitation the chance to discuss how to improve access for people with disabilities.

Emma Lillian Bruce-Lyle, Director of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture who has a disability herself, highlighted the importance of people with disabilities to be included in all discussions about their welfare.

"People think that just providing a ramp settles the disability issue, but the gradients of some ramps are too steep and sometimes constructed with tiles that are slippery. Also, a ramp without a rail is just as dangerous as no having a ramp at all," said Emma.

"When then issue is about us, we should be included so we can explain our needs. We may not be architects or engineers, but we can tell you what we want and how we want it to be done."

Charles Appiagyei, chairperson at the event, added that the cost of making projects inclusive will be minimal if factored in at the start, cautioning that projects can become expensive if the idea of making them inclusive becomes an afterthought.

Augustina Ampomah contributes to discussions through sign language.

Credit: WaterAid

According to the World Health Organization, there are about 2.5 millions people with disabilities in Ghana. In August 2006, the Persons with Disability Act was passed to provide equal opportunities for Ghanaians with disabilities across economic, social and political dimensions.

The bill has a transitional period, providing for a 10-year moratorium on making all public facilities disability-friendly due to the huge investment required. Even taking this into account, progress has been slow over the past four years.

Jesse Coffie Danku, Head of Programmes for WaterAid in Ghana said at the workshop: "When we talk of everyone having access to sanitation, it presupposes that everyone means everyone; there should be no exclusion."

Group discussions focussed on four major areas:

• Identifying gaps in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) delivery
• Proposing minimum indicators for monitoring the integration of disability dimensions in WASH services
• Identifying the challenges in achieving the effective participation of people with disabilities in the planning, implementation and monitoring of WASH services
• Proposing measures to ensure more effective participation of people with disabilities

The following actions were agreed upon:

• Decentralise the discussions from the forum to regional and district levels to ensure all stages of national development take into consideration issues of people with disabilities
• Review organisational plans to ascertain how they can bridge the gap developing inclusive plans
• NCDP will engage policy makers and directors of various ministries on disability issues as well as taking the lead in adding the discussions from the workshop to a baseline report
• Various organisations with materials on inclusive designs were encouraged to share with the NCPD
• Best practices would be shared across organisations

As stated in our Equity and inclusion framework, WaterAid believes that access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation (WASH) is a human right.

These essential services underpin human development and transform lives, enabling people to overcome poverty. We believe that poverty, marginalisation, and social exclusion are inextricably linked.

This means WaterAid will address exclusion from WASH as it relates to power dynamics and control of resources within the family, the community and at institutional levels.'