Mr Joshua Addy, Programmes Officer, National Council on Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), said effective education on issues related to stigmatisation of persons with disabilities was gradually making positive impacts.
He said there had been lots of education and sensitisation programmes for stakeholders and the public, a major contributor to the decrease of stigmatisation on persons with disabilities.
Mr Addy made these remarks during Ghana National Association of the Deaf’s (GNAD) partnership meeting with stakeholders on the Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) of deaf adolescent girls and women in Accra.
The project sought to address existing gaps in SRH interventions and improve deaf adolescents’ participation in learning through improved access to MHM in the Western, Upper West, Northern, Ahafo, Bono and the Volta Regions.
“Currently and unintentionally, you can see people trying to stay away from such people, but immediately their attention is drawn to that, they change their ways,” he added.
He said the availability of the Council championing the rights of persons with disabilities also contributed to the decrease of stigmatisation as far as persons with disabilities were concerned.
Mr Addy said, “building the capacities of persons with disabilities themselves to stand and fight for their rights is another factor making an impact.”
He said the project was a good one as it would go a long way to solve neglect of specific interventions on health issues for the deaf adolescents.
The Programme Officer said there was also the need for the extension of the programme to other regions, to reach out to other deaf adolescent girls and women in Ghana.
Mr Gabriel Soje, Programmes Manager, GNAD, said the project had increased access to comprehensive SRH information and services for deaf women and girls in the Bechem, Volta and Savelugu schools for the deaf in the Ahafo, Volta and Northern regions, respectively.
“The project widened the knowledge of 1000 adolescent girls, including adolescent students in the three schools for the deaf, with knowledge to be able to manage their menses in a healthy and dignifying manner,” he added.
He said it increased participation of adolescent girls in school activities through development and provision of low-cost sanitary pads and transfer skills to 500 deaf women and girls through making sanitary pads.
Mr Soje said the project would be ending in May, and that they needed more funds from local and International Organisations to continue to sensitise deaf adolescent girls and women regarding menstrual hygiene and sexual reproduction.
Mr Juventus Duorinaah, Executive Director, GNAD, said the partnership meeting was an opportunity to share with its stakeholders for the past two years some of the key areas that were positively impacted.
He said the partnership meeting was relevant as it would enable them to know the next steps and what would be done in the coming years, and urged all the relevant stakeholders present to contribute to the discussions.
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