By Hannah Awadzi
Accra, May 28, GNA – The revised Persons with Disabilities bill, 2026 has been submitted to cabinet for its review, Mr Edwin Kweku Andoh, Executive Secretary of the National Council on Persons with Disabilities said on Thursday.
He urged organisations of persons with disabilities and Members of Parliament to intensify advocacy for the bill’s passage, noting that disability groups have been pressing for reform for the past two decades.
Mr Andoh made the announcement at a forum organised by the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to engage the Parliamentary Caucus on Disability on the revised bill.
He reaffirmed the NCPD’s commitment to the cause and pledged continuous support to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
He added that the African Disability Protocol had also been laid before Parliament.
Dr Edward Ampratwum, Head of the Transformative Governance Cluster at the UNDP, described the bill as an opportunity to close long-standing gaps in disability inclusion.
“No country can achieve reasonable development when a population of about 2.8 million are left behind,” he said, urging Parliament to treat the bill with the urgency it deserves.
Mr Juventus Duorinaah, Executive Secretary of GNAD, said the revised bill offered Ghana a chance to align laws with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which Ghana is a signatory.
He called on the Parliamentary Caucus to champion its passage, stressing its importance to the estimated 2.8 million persons with disabilities in the country.
Mr Peter Anoma-Kodie, Executive Director of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisation (GFD) emphasised that persons with disabilities must be actively involved in shaping the final document before it becomes law, reiterating the principle of “nothing about us without us.”
He also urged the government to establish systems for effective implementation once the law was passed
Ms. Beatrice Akua Mamhood, a disability activist, highlighted gaps in the current law, particularly around intersectionality.
She noted that women with disabilities faced compounded stigma and exclusion, while caregivers of children with developmental and intellectual disabilities remained overlooked.
Ms. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Minister of Tourism and a member of the Parliamentary Disability Caucus, renewed her commitment to serve the disability community.
Other Members of Parliament present also pledged their support, assuring the disability community of their dedication to advancing inclusion and dignity.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
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