Poverty alleviation among persons with disabilities via United Nations' sustainable development goals in Ghana: Voices of stakeholders with disabilities

Abstract

Consistently, it has been reported that persons with disabilities face multiple challenges in societies and thus it is important that deliberate intervention programs are initiated to empower them to overcome exclusion. The United Nations has taken the lead through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project, which is a framework for assisting countries and donors in their efforts to alleviate poverty. This article documented the experiences of persons with disabilities with respect to global efforts towards poverty reduction via SDGs. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 48 individuals with disabilities (hearing loss n = 11, visual impairment n = 15, and physical disability n = 22) who were drawn from four districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. Analysis of the interview data revealed common themes related to hardship, poverty, limited access to education, and underemployment. The results indicated that the SDG project engendered little tangible improvement in the lives of persons with disabilities. The need for concerted efforts to address barriers faced by individuals with disabilities is discussed extensively.

Sustainable employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in Ghana: Exploring perceptions and participation in agriculture

“…There is a global agenda towards eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. Because persons with disabilities are usually poor and dependent in societies such as Ghana (Anthony, ; Opoku et al, ), it has been suggested that governments should devise means to integrate them in economic activities. It is against this backdrop that we explored the perceptions of persons with disabilities regarding their participation in farming.…”

“…Similarly, in a Chinese study, Kam and Siu () reported a decrease in depression and anxiety among persons with disabilities who participated in a horticulture programme. In the Ghanaian context, therefore, where persons with disabilities face constant abuse (Kassah et al, ; Opoku et al, ), their involvement in farming could perhaps take their minds off institutional, environmental, and attitudinal forms of discrimination. However, there has been no detailed exploration of the potential of and extent to which persons with disabilities are involved in agriculture in Ghana.…”

“…They analysed the prevalence of disability among poor households in 15 developing countries and found that the economic situation of households with at least one member with a disability was worse than that of households that did not have persons with disabilities, suggesting a vicious circle between disability and poverty. The reasons why persons with disabilities experience disproportionately high rates of poverty have been found to include their exclusion from formal and informal education, basic health care, employment, political, and legal processes (Opoku, Swabey, Pullen, & Dowden, ; Shier, Graham, & Jones, ). Consequently, they are left with fewer employable skills, lower self‐esteem, an inability to assert their rights, and poor health (Opoku, Mprah, Dogbe, et al, ; Yeo & Moore, ).…”

“…In the Ghanaian context, persons with disabilities continue to experience hardship and are largely unemployed and rendered dependants in society (Kassah, Kassah, & Agbota, , Kassah et al, ; Naami, Hayashi, & Liese, ; Opoku, Mprah, Dogbe, et al, ; Opoku et al, ). This raises the need for government to design sustainable programmes for persons with disabilities.…”

In search of universal health coverage – highlighting the accessibility of health care to students with disabilities in Ghana: a qualitative study

“…This population is described as the poorest of the poor in the Ghanaian society. Similarly, they are ranked low in every economic indicator in the country, particularly, access to education for children with disabilities (21,(33)(34)(35)(36).…”