Kwame Nkrumah, Disability, and Rehabilitation in Ghana, 1957–66

Abstract

This article examines a rehabilitation program for disabled Ghanaians developed by Kwame Nkrumah's government between 1961 and 1966. Arising at a time when Nkrumah was moving away from welfarism in favor of a ‘big push’ for industrialization, rehabilitation sought to integrate disabled citizens into the national economy as productive workers. Nkrumah's program was preceded by a colonial rehabilitation project during the 1940s for disabled African soldiers. The colonial initiative drew heavily on the British model of social orthopaedics, which equated citizenship with work. This philosophy resonated with Nkrumah's vision of national development based on full employment. Although its economic focus had troubling implications for citizenship and welfare, Nkrumah's rehabilitation program was unique among newly independent African states, and it arguably produced a positive legacy.

Campus shuttle experience and mobility concerns among students with disability in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

“…This paper hopes to contribute to practice and literature relating to students' living conditions and mobility experience on campus. The study deviates from previous studies that have focused on the loss of a body part as the primary contributing factor to one's inability to engage in various activities, as seen in disability studies relating to stigma (Ocran, 2017), rehabilitation (Grischow, 2011), and human rights (Opoku-Boadi, 2015). Further, this study is viewed from the context of a social model of disability where the emphasis is placed on how the design and usage of the built environment as well as social interaction influence students' ability to enjoy opportunities.…”

Contractual dependencies:

“…In the language of both claim and criticism, the documentaire relationship suggests that a person's worth can be conceived in terms of individual achievements as well as in terms of relations to others; people in Kinshasa attach personal value both to independent work and membership in a community, and one does not win out over the other. But as much as they conceive “work” as independent, labor itself can be an institutionalized form of dependence (e.g., Ferguson ; Grischow ). The Belgian colonizers fashioned Kinshasa as a colonial labor camp from which the unemployed were systematically removed, and where dependence on an employer was a criterion for inclusion.…”

Attitudes of health service providers: the perspective of Persons with Disabilities in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana

“… 2008 ; Shaikh & Hatcher 2005 , 2007 ). The attitudes towards people with disabilities have been identified as stigma, for example, stereotypes, wrong perceptions and the use of abusive and discriminatory words (Iezzoni 2011 ). This may limit them from accessing health care compared with the non-disabled population.…”

“…This programme was later handed over to voluntary service organisations in 1947. The government in 1950 absorbed the voluntary sector and took over the practical aspect of the work, leaving voluntary sectors to advocacy (Grischow 2011 ).…”