By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Aug. 30, GNA – A day’s training workshop on human rights and inclusive approaches to joint advocacy with young persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups has been held in Tamale.
The workshop, which brought together some selected members of the youth wing of the Ghana Federation of Disabilities (GFD) from eight districts in the Northren Region, was to increase their knowledge on the legal, policy and institutional framework for the protection of persons with disabilities rights in Ghana.
It was organised by Centre for Research and Development Alternatives (CREDA) under its Voice for Access Project and funded by STAR Ghana Foundation’s Action for Voice and Inclusive Development, which seeks to increase awareness of underserved and vulnerable people’s access to public services.
Mr Abukari Iddrisu, Programmes Manager of CREDA, speaking during the workshop, said it formed part of CREDA’s efforts to enhance persons with disabilities demand and access to social services, public resources such as inclusive education, quality health care and access to financial support to enhance their livelihoods.
Mr Iddrisu said over the years, persons with disabilities were not properly exposed to legal provisions and advocacy tools that guaranteed their rights, a situation, which resulted to many instances of abuse and discrimination.
He said, “This training workshop is to expose participants to some of the local and international legal provisions to enable them effectively advocate for their rights.”
Dr Cecilia Alimatu Issaka, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education, University for Development Studies (UDS), took participants through some of the local and international instruments on the rights of persons with disabilities, including the world programme of action concerning disabled persons, standard rules on the equalisation of opportunities for persons with disabilities, the establishment and functions of national council on persons with disabilities, among others.
She said it was unfortunate that persons with disabilities were still subjected to various forms of abuse, discrimination and injustices despite the numerous legal instruments that had been enacted.
She called on the government to prioritise implementing policies and programmes that best safeguarded the rights of persons with disabilities to ensure an all-inclusive national development.
Mr Muntaka Hafiz, Executive Director of Sustainable Initiative and Development, expressed the need for participants to increase their skills on human rights-based approaches in advocating on issues that affected their lives.
He urged them to form and strengthen advocacy group campaigns to enable them to channel their grievances to the government for the necessary policies and programmes to be implemented.
Mrs Abubakari Nima Shahadatu, Northern Regional President of GFD, commended CREDA for the training workshop and appealed to members not to relent on their advocacy campaigns to ensure that issues confronting persons with disabilities were prioritised by government.
GNA