Tamale, Feb 25, GNA – The Women’s wing of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFDO) in the Northern Region has called on health facilities, especially the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), to employ the services of sign language interpreters to ensure better care for the hearing impaired.
It said the lack of sign language interpreters at the health facilities was affecting care for the hearing impaired, adding that employing such professionals would help bridge the communication gap between health workers and the hearing impaired.
Madam Ayishatu Abubakari, Women’s wing President of Ghana Blind Union (GBU), a union under the GFDO in the Northern Region, who made the call at a press conference in Tamale on Friday, said sign language interpreters were the lifeline of the hearing impaired and indicated that health facilities should hire their services as a basic necessity.
The press conference was for the Women’s wing of the GBU in the region to highlight some challenges they faced as they tried to access public services.
Madam Abubakari also appealed to the government to employ some members of the GBU to work at the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to ensure better policies that addressed their interests.
She further appealed to the NHIA to help register and renew health insurance subscriptions of people with disabilities at their various centres.
She expressed concerns about inadequate information on the District Assemblies Common Fund for members of the GBU and called on the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly to have a half-year engagement with PWDs on the state of the DACF.
GNA