Wednesday, 3rd December, 2025
Hon Ewurabena Aubynn
Ablekuma North
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I am grateful for the opportunity to make this Statement on the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities, being commemorated globally on the theme, Fostering Disability: Inclusive Societies for Advancing Social Progress. The theme calls on all nations to strengthen the systems and policies that guarantee full inclusion and equal participation of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in national development.
Mr Speaker, today’s commemoration is historic for Ghana, as we mark the first year of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities Policy launched on 25th October, 2025. This initiative, implemented through the Students' Loan Trust Fund with support from Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), absolves tuition for all persons with disabilities admitted to accredited public tertiary institutions.
Mr Speaker, this is not an act of charity. It is constitutional justice, rooted in Article 25 of the 1992 Constitution and the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006 (Act 715), which guarantees equal access to education. Mr Speaker, according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, 2.1 million Ghanaians, representing about 8 per cent of the population live with disability. Disability prevalence is higher among females, more pronounced in rural communities, and visual impairment remains the most common disability type. Among the elderly, 38 per cent live with at least one disability, increasing vulnerability to exclusion.
Mr Speaker, these statistics reflect significant socio-economic disparities. Unemployment among PWDs is nearly double the national average, and only a quarter progress beyond basic education, and fewer than 5 per cent reach tertiary level. The barriers include inaccessible buildings, mobility challenges, high cost of assistive devices, and persistent stigma.
Mr Speaker, the Free Tertiary Education Initiative is a bold step forward, but its success depends heavily on accessibility. The Ghana Building Code, G.S. 1207-2018, developed by the Ghana Standards Authority, mandates that all public buildings must incorporate accessibility features for persons with disabilities. These include ramps, elevators, tactile indicators, accessible washrooms, disability-friendly pathways and designated parking spaces. Yet, many public tertiary institutions and public buildings remain non-compliant.
Mr Speaker, to give full effect to this year’s theme, I respectfully propose the following:
One, sustainable financing to ensure predictable funding to the Students’ Loan Trust Fund and GETFund to support fee absorption for all eligible persons with disabilities.
Two, strict enforcement of the Ghana Building Code, G.S. 1207-2018, through mandatory compliance audits.
Three, provision of assistive technologies such as signlanguage interpreters, the braille materials, audio resources, and inclusive digital learning platforms.
Four, mobility and welfare support, including transport stipends or dedicated shuttle services.
Five, improved data and monitoring systems to guide targeted interventions.
Six, public sensitisation to reduce stigma and promote respect, dignity, and inclusion.
Seven, employment pathways through internships and fair recruitment for graduates with disabilities.
Mr Speaker, as we observe the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Ghana stands at an important turning point. Free Tertiary Education Programme for Persons with Disabilities is a bold and progressive intervention. Its impact, however, will depend on full enforcement of accessibility standards, sustained policy reforms, and a national commitment ensuring that disability does not limit opportunity.
Our collective responsibility is to build a society where every Ghanaian, irrespective of their physical, sensory, intellectual, or psychosocial disability, has the environment, support and opportunity to thrive. Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity once again.
Hon Felix Akwetey Okle
Bortianor-Ngleshe Amanfro
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to associate myself with the Statement made on the International Day of Disability.
Mr Speaker, in my Constituency, Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro, we continue to engage with disability groups to understand their needs and support them in practical ways. But, Constituency-level interventions alone are not enough. We need a national approach that is inclusive, adequately funded and driven by the principles of fairness and equal opportunity.
Mr Speaker, let this year’s International Day of Persons with Disability, remind us that inclusivity is not charity, it is justice. It is the foundation of a sustainable development and a measure of a truly democratic society. I therefore call on this House to continue championing policies to empower persons with disabilities to live with independence, dignity and with respect.
Mr Speaker, I take the opportunity to salute the people of Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Samuel Awuku
Akuapim North
Mr Speaker, I believe, as we commemorate today, our friends and brothers who are persons with disability are not asking for pity or empathy from us. They are asking us to show them the same respect and support that we continue to show ourselves. The Parliament of Ghana has played host to School for the Deaf from Mampong.
Again, I am also happy to note that the Hon Minister for Education, just about three weeks ago, was also a special guest of honour for the School for the Blind in Akropong, both in my Constituency. There, the Hon Minister also did indicate that as part of the issues bedeviling this institution, Government is also going to make some allocation for them to employ many more hands to cater for these young people.
Mr Speaker, I have stated on this Floor on countless occasions that the issues of disability, the very act and our posture towards inclusion, respectfully as a nation, has not received the needed attention. Sometimes, when they are in trouble, they appear at police stations, and there is nobody to even interpret what they are saying. Sometimes they are accused wrongly in my Constituency, and they have no means of even extricating themselves from the very accusations levelled against them. As we all seek to ask for support across the world, I believe that as a society, Parliament, and as a country, we have to stand up for them as well.
In my Constituency alone, I play host to three special needs schools: School for the Blind in Akropong, School for the Deaf in Mampong and School for the Deaf Technical School. Today as we commemorate the World Disability Day, another interesting matter that I would like to also put before Government is that the School for the Deaf, thus the basic school and that of the technical school, are separated by a road. Unfortunately, these are brothers have a shortcoming when it comes to their ability to hear. On numerous occasions, they are being knocked down by vehicles and we have complained time and over again.
I believe that today, it should not just be another lip service as we commemorate the day, but concrete actions being taken by all of us to help show them that needed respect. On this note, I stand shoulder to shoulder in support of the maker of the Statement as we commemorate the World Disability Day.
Thank you very much.
Hon Haruna Iddrisu
Tamale South
Mr Speaker, let me thank you for the opportunity to commend the maker of the Statement, Ms Ewurabena Aubynn, for celebrating persons with disability and reminding this House of our international commitment to the observation of the International Day of Persons with Disability, which was declared by the United Nations (UN) far back 1981 through to 1992.
Mr Speaker, there was a meeting in Doha, the World Summit on Social Development, where these issues were further discussed. Mr Speaker, what we need is a just, inclusive and equitable world. Even in Ghana, persons with disability still face significant challenges and obstacles. It is commendable that she has recognised what President John Dramani Mahama has done for persons with disability at least to have access to free tertiary education. I was in Akuapem three weeks ago where we visited the special needs school for visually impaired persons and I am happy to note that from 1st January, 2026, President Mahama will make a formal declaration of free education for all persons with special needs in Ghana and would want that to be an enduring legacy and to reach out to them as very marginalised and deprived people.
Currently, those of them in the schools— We refer to them as integrated and special needs. There are about 39 of them spread across the country, particularly in Ashanti and Volta Regions and other parts of the country. They live on GH₵8.00 a day and Government is increasing that to GH₵15.00. Mr Speaker, I am here with an amendment to the GETFund Act and part of the amendment is to declare special needs education free in Ghana.
Every other year, the GETFund would be obliged through Parliament to make a minimum allocation of GH₵65 million to GH₵100 million dedicated to their feeding. What is significant will be assistive devices. Elsewhere in the world, for those who are unable to hear, there are devices that can aid hearing. We will also provide that for them.
I want to commend the maker of the Statement. I am also aware that the President has directed that the District Assemblies Common Fund allocation for persons with disability be increased from 3 per cent to 5 per cent and that this money must be spent at the local level. Also, accessibility to the Fund must be from the Federation of Disabled People as part of his determination to reach out to persons with disability.
Mr Speaker, we need to do more even as a Parliament. There are many institutions in Ghana which are still disability unfriendly. They have not been able to adjust their institutional infrastructure probably, including Parliament. How does a disabled person climb the stairs up here?
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Hon Jerry Ahmed Shaib
Weija-Gbawe
Mr Speaker, thank you. I want to commend the makers of this Statement and to reiterate a few situations.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities was established on 3rd December, 1992 and the purpose is to provide people with disabilities accessibility to help promote their activities and to let people understand that disability is not an inability. Today, we have this platform and in Ghana, we have about 2.1 million people who are persons living with various disabilities. In the world, we have about 2 billion people living with disabilities.
Mr Speaker, what are we doing as a Parliament to help resolve some of the problems these people are facing. If we look at the Persons with Disability Act 2006(Act 715), Mr Speaker, it remains largely unenforced. Why am I saying so? This is because even in our social provisions, we are not responsive to providing infrastructure for people with disabilities.
We are not doing what is expected of us. Even in this Parliament, if we have friends with disabilities who want to visit us, apart from the lift, how are they going to reach out to us? When we go to a lot of toilet facilities in Ghana, they are only meant for people who do not have any form of disability. Our parking spaces, public spaces, public infrastructure and most of these allocations or arrangements are not made for disabled people. So we only come and make all the noise and laws but we leave the vitals. We do not take care of these people.
Mr Speaker, as we celebrate their day, the clarion call is to make room and provisions for them in our infrastructure, education, homes, schools, businesses and even in sports. Whenever the Paralympics airs, we barely see people from Ghana participating. We see many swimmers who are persons living with disabilities and they do massively well than people who are abled men and women.
This is the time for us to pay attention to them. They did not ask to be disabled, but unfortunately, this is a situation they have to deal with. What are we doing for them? My respective Leaders who have also made Statements on this, this would be a clarion call on all of us to pay attention to persons living with disabilities so that we can say that we have done our part for them and for mother Ghana.
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Hon Rita Naa Odoley Sowah
Dadekotopon
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement ably made by my Hon Colleague, Ewurabena Aubyunn.
Mr Speaker, we celebrate with the persons with disability on this day, 3rd December, 2025 under the theme, “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress”. Before I go on, I wish to commend His Excellency the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama for taking the initiative to increase their part of the District Assemblies Common Fund from 3 per cent to 5 per cent.
Mr Speaker, most of the time, some of the persons with disability have issues assessing this Fund and on this day that we celebrate persons with disability, I wish to encourage all of us as Members of Parliament to be concerned and participate in the distribution and allocation of their percentage to them. There are committees in the various assemblies that oversee the disbursement of these funds. How are they disbursing the funds? We should ensure that they disburse it well. There should not be discrimination where somebody would always have the opportunity and others would not. His Excellency the President has also made tertiary education free for persons with disability and we want to congratulate him on that.
Mr Speaker, we have different forms of persons with disability and per the Statement ably made by my Hon Colleague, we have 2.1 million people who live with some form of disability. Mr Speaker, it will interest you to note that most people are not born with their disabilities. But as they grow, through accidents and various means, people become visually impaired and physically challenged among others. The rate of discrimination is too high in our nation. We need to come together and not look down on persons with disability because they are disabled through no fault of theirs.
Mr Speaker, I would want to talk about accessibility. We go to most of our government institutions, and people with disability are not able to have access to where they really want to go. Sometimes, the leaders have to come down to meet them downstairs. There are some people here, such as Mr Gilbert Ayebeng and his team, who are here today in Parliament. He is visually impaired, so how did he get into Parliament? These are issues that we have to look at and take a critical consideration of to ensure that they have access to wherever they want to go.
Mr Speaker, we give opportunities to persons with disability to work in our various assemblies, and sometimes they are transferred out of where they live, and that is another worry for them, in terms of having to look for accommodation, among others. I also want to talk about the sign language interpreters. We do not have enough, and I pray that we will train more of them to ensure that we will be able to help our persons with disability.
Mr Speaker, I also want to take this opportunity to encourage parents who have children with disabilities to ensure that they educate them. People with disability have so much in them, but because of discrimination and stigmatisation, most parents hide their children. On this day, as we celebrate persons with disability, bring your children out so that we can work with them; we will educate them to ensure that they are part of our society and they are part of Ghana.
On this day, I wish all of them well wherever they are across the nation, in my Constituency, La Dade Kotopon, Mr Adaakwa, Mr Gilbert, and all of them. I wish you a happy celebration.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
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