By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, June 20, GNA — Ms. Mabel Anawoe, a hearing-impaired woman, has called on the government and stakeholders to provide sign language interpreters in all hospitals and public institutions to promote inclusion and ensure access to essential services for persons with hearing disabilities.
Ms. Anawoe expressed concern about the difficulties faced by hearing-impaired individuals in their daily lives, especially when seeking medical care or conducting business.
She added that the absence of interpreters at critical points of service delivery shows that their needs were not being considered.
She made this known through an interpreter during a stakeholder training organised by the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), in collaboration with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, held under the Partnership for Municipal Innovations—Women in Local Leadership (PPMI-WILL) Project on Inclusive Service Delivery strategy through Popular Participation.
According to her, the lack of interpreters often left them feeling excluded, frustrated, and vulnerable as they were unable to communicate properly and get the services they needed, adding that they usually had to outsource interpreters themselves even in times of emergencies.
She explained that during health emergencies, they were often unable to explain their symptoms or understand the instructions of health professionals, a situation that puts their lives at risk and increases the burden on their families and caregivers, leading to most of them avoiding going to hospitals altogether due to the fear of being misunderstood.
Ms. Anawoe called on the authorities to urgently train and deploy professional sign language interpreters in both public and private institutions, including banks, law courts, and police stations, as part of their customer support systems.
She further appealed to the public to become more sensitive to the challenges faced by deaf people and support efforts to create a more inclusive society.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Sawer/Benjamin Mensah