Advocacy programmes for the Ghana Federation of the Disabled received a boost on Thursday when the Danish government through its aid agency, DANIDA, launched a programme to improve on the Federation's performance.
Organizations which form the Federation include the Ghana Association for the Blind, Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled and the Ghana Association of the Deaf.
The project which would run from February 2010 to December 2013 is estimated to cost five million US dollars. It includes activities which
would enable the Federation improve on its performance in strategic advocacy, develop the organization and also strengthen its communication and coordination capacities.
Mr. Joseph Adu-Boampong, 1st Vice President of the Federation, who made this known during the launch, said the overall objective was to enable
Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) enjoy equal rights in all areas of society.
He said the project would target all 17,000 members of the Federation with special emphasis on some 4,550 members in some selected 16 project
districts.
These include Lawra and Bongo in the Upper East Region; Saboba and Nanumba North in the Northern Region; Sefwi Wiawso and Juaboso in the
Western Region; and Asutifi and Dormaa in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Mr. Adu-Boampong said the Federation was ready to make good use of the money allocated for the commencement of the projects.
"Each project organization has its membership clearly formulated with specific roles of the governing board, secretariat and all its committees and their activities supported by written documents," he said.
Mr. Emile Short, Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAG), urged all disabled persons to always endeavour to contact the commission when they felt their rights had been trampled upon.
"We at CHRAJ are ever ready to look into any cases which clearly show that your rights have been abused," he said.
Mr. Kasper Bergman, representative of the Disabled People's Organization in Denmark, urged members of the Federation to be united in
order to achieve their aims and appealed for more sign language interpreters for the deaf in the Federation.