The Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Joseph Whittal, is calling national attention to what he says is the neglect of persons with disabilities and mental health conditions.
Describing it as a matter of national security, Mr. Whittal, says the State has to prioritize their protection, particularly during national emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a Ghana Somubi Dwumadie forum on how the vulnerable coped at Ghana’s height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CHRAJ boss urged the State to consider socio-economic support for persons with disabilities and mental health conditions.
“People with disabilities, including people with mental health decisions including people with mental health conditions who have been left to fend for themselves or their families in normal times during such pandemics and health emergencies, there is the need for the state to specifically prioritise the protection of people with disabilities, including people with mental health conditions,” the CHRAJ boss said.
About a fifth of Ghanaians are living with disabilities.
