“There seems to be a huge gap that excludes parents and family caregivers of Persons with Disabilities (PwD’s) from the existing policies,” Mrs Bernice Sam, a Facilitator at the workshop organised by NETRIGHT in partnership with Alinea International said.
She noted that parents and family caregivers of PwDs did not directly benefit or seem excluded from policies such as the Social Protection Policy, Ageing Policy, Mental Health Policy, Inclusive Education Policy, National Health Insurance Policy and other policies that provided support for care work.
Mrs Sam said although Ghana had implemented various initiatives aimed at reducing gender inequalities, most of the efforts tended to be generalised and failed to address the nuanced realities faced by different groups of women.
Mrs Hannah Awadzi, a participant at the workshop, said most parents and families of PwDs were left with the burden of unpaid care work without any support from the government.
“For instance, the Office of the Head of Civil Service has a beautiful facility that serves as a creche for staff, but a child with disability may not be accepted or fit into such an institution because they are not usually, leaving their care solely to their parents and other family members.
Mrs Awadzi stated that most parents of PwDs engaged in long hours of unpaid care work without any government support systems, services or must employ and pay for support, usually from their personal resources to enable them to thrive.
GNA
