PWDs also have Sexual Reproductive Health Rights needs

By Wayo Rosemary/Osei Agyemang Eugene, GNA

Tamale (N/R), Nov. 14, GNA – The Ghana Federation of Disabilities Organizations (GFD), an umbrella organization of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), has organized a day’s workshop for journalists in Tamale to promote the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of Persons With Disabilities.

The workshop was purposely meant to educate the media how to promote the issues of PWDs especially their SRHR.

The GFD raised concerns about the fact that PWDs have equal Sexual Reproductive Health Rights just like any other person, yet they had been excluded in many social issues including accessing healthcare.

Mr Nicholas Mensah Sungoli, the Project Officer for Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), said the media and society at large had to strengthen advocacy for actions to be taken on the SRHR of PWDs on grounds of discrimination at care centres, because service providers had no knowledge of their rights.

He said an estimated 10 per cent of the world’s population live with disability and these percentages had the same SRHR needs as other people, yet they often faced barriers to information and services, which made them vulnerable in society.

Mr Mensah said the challenges to SRHR faced by persons with disabilities were not necessarily part of having a disability, but often reflected the lack of social attention, legal protection, understanding and support, making them ignorant about basic facts concerning disabilities.

“The convention on the rights of persons with disabilities addresses SRHR issues of PWDs, which meant that states parties were required to ensure that all laws, policies, and programmes complied with its provisions,” he said.

Mr Adam Abdul Wahab, the Communications and Public Relations Officer for GFD, complained that most facilities in the country were not accessible to the disabled and stressed the need for all institutions to create disability friendly facilities for easy access.

He urged the journalists to get more into reporting issues regarding the disabled and use phrases or words that humanly described them rather than using abusive words in describing them.

Mr Yaw Ofori Debrah, the President of GFD, appealed to television stations as well as film producers to stop portraying characters as disabled, because it made PWDs victimized and mocked owing to the fact that they felt they were of no use to society.

Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD), formerly Ghana Federation of the Disabled is a national umbrella organization of PWDs, which was established in 1987 with the mission of protecting the rights of PWDs and their effective participation in society at all levels by influencing policies, legislations and programmes, and collaborating with relevant stakeholders at the national, regional and district levels.

GNA

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