GHS Urged to Prioritize Disability-Inclusive Healthcare for All Ghanaians
The Acting Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Caroline Reindorf Amissah, has called on health workers to treat every patient with dignity, emphasizing the need to pay special attention to persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Dr. Amissah stated that attitudinal barriers among healthcare professionals remain a significant obstacle for PWDs, often worsening the stigma and challenges they face when seeking medical care.
“Health workers themselves can be major contributors to these challenges. While we understand the health needs of persons with disabilities, we sometimes fail to treat them as we advocate others should,” she said.
Her remarks were made during the commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, organized by GHS in partnership with the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, the National Council on PWDs, the World Health Organization, and Sightsavers, under the theme ‘Building Inclusive Health Service Delivery for Social Progress.’
Highlighting findings from the 2023 Disability Inclusive Health Landscape Review, Dr. Amissah explained that major barriers for PWDs include limited staff knowledge, lack of sign language interpreters, and financial constraints affecting access to assistive devices. She stressed that GHS has developed guidelines to remove these physical, communication, and attitudinal barriers.
“Some progress has been made through staff training and e-learning courses on disability inclusion, but these efforts remain insufficient. More staff need to recognize the importance of this training,” she added, calling for a dedicated budget line to support disability-inclusive healthcare.
Dr. Amissah emphasized that disability inclusion is not an act of charity, reminding that anyone could experience disability at some point in life.
In her remarks, Disability Inclusion Advisor at GFD, Dorcas Efe Mensah, underscored that health is a right, not a privilege, and true strength of a nation’s health system is measured by its ability to serve those historically excluded. She highlighted initiatives such as integrating disability awareness and sign language into nursing training as crucial steps toward efficient, inclusive care.
The Executive Secretary of the National Council on PWDs, Edwin Kweku Andoh, added that challenges remain in facility accessibility, inclusion in health policy decisions, stigma, and inadequate training for health professionals. He called for stronger disability-inclusive guidelines and enhanced staff capacity to ensure all Ghanaians can access quality healthcare.
