The Volta Regional chapter of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) has called on the Government to factor the needs of Persons with Disability (PWDs) in the provision of relief items for victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage. The Organisation said most of the 24,620 PWDs in the South, Central and North Tongu districts had fallen victims to the flood, yet their needs had not been met. Ms Elikplim Klu, the Volta Regional President of GFD, in a press release issued to the Ghana News Agency, said the Federation had visited the affected areas to assess the extent of damage on members to inform its advocacy in mitigating their plight. Although the floods had a devastating effect on residents of the affected communities, the PWDs were facing double agony due to their vulnerability. She, therefore, appealed to citizens, corporate bodies, international relief agencies, donor partners and the foreign missions to help the victims. Ms Klu said the GFD would continue to create an inclusive society for all persons with disability in Ghana, and those within the three Tongu districts were no exception. ‘The 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana was not explicitly clear on support services for PWDs in times like this although there is a general provision under Article 37(2,b) and 84(a).’ She said the PWDs Act 2006 (Act 715) did not equally make an explicit provision such as contained in Article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). She called on the Legislature to help correct the lacuna in the laws and expedite action on the review of Act 715 to commensurate with international disability laws, protocols and conventions. She urged the Volta River Authority and other stakeholders to revisit their disaster prevention and management strategies to prevent the recurrence of such disasters.
Source: Ghana News Agency