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27.06.2016 Feature Article

Disability, More Nurture Than Nature

Disability, More Nurture Than Nature
27.06.2016 LISTEN

Persons with disability as defined in the Summary Report of Ghana Population and Housing Census 2010, are those who are unable to write or were restricted in the performance of specific tasks/activities due to loss of function of some part of the body as a result of impairment or malformation. Per the definition, two things come to mind, the impairment or malformation and the incapacity to interact with the environment as the result of the impairment.

This therefore, raises two important questions that need to be answered, thus, is it the impairment or malformation of some part of the body that restrict the interaction with the environment or is it the environment that makes it difficult for the disabled person to interact with? It has been proven through technology and advancement that reforming and reshaping the environment can make it possible for persons with extreme or multiple disabilities to interact with the environment at ease. Stephen Hawking is a perfect example. The next question we need to ask ourselves is, has Ghana been in a position to create the support to increase interaction of disabled persons with the environment in a convenient manner?

Ghana as a state, in its attempt to create an enabling environment to support the greater inclusion and interaction of persons with disability, on 11th August, 2016 gazetted The Disability Act 715 which included provisions to improve the conditions of persons with disability. Some of these provisions in the Act speak against discrimination and exploitation of persons with disability, enhancing accessibility to public service and facilities, proving employments as well as tax rebate to employer who employs a person with disability, establishing rehabilitation centers in regions and districts to provide guidance, counselling and training for persons with disability, free education, free medical care, free rehabilitative operation treatment and assistive devices for persons with total disability, and above all, establishing a Council to propose and evolve policies and strategies to enable persons with disability enter and participate in the mainstream of the national development process.

In addition, the government has allocated 3% of District Assemble Common Fund (DACF) to support persons with disability at the district levels. One might be filled with passion to live in this country after reviewing the Disability Act but I don’t think such a person will last a week after experiencing conditions in this country. Who is to enforce this Act? Who is to champion the living conditions of persons with disability as a top priority? Well, one may ask, “Why should I care, after all, I am not disabled?” The fact of the matter is; disability is more nurture than nature.

The 2010 Population and Housing Census revealed that there were 737, 743 persons with disability representing 3.0 percent of the total population. At Ghana’s current population growth rate (2.39%), the number is estimated at 832,385. The data also showed that there are more female (52.5%) persons with disability than male (47.5%). The data revealed that visual or sight impairment is the most common disability, followed by physical challenges, emotional/behavioral problems, intellectual malfunctioning, hearing and speech.

The data, however, did not specify the cause of the various forms of disabilities whether by birth (nature) or through interaction with the environment (nurture). Reviewing data from Department of Social Welfare, Asante Akim North District on persons with disability who have benefitted from the DACF allocation, it would interest you to know that about 77% of the beneficiaries became disabled due to their interaction with the environment. Majority of such persons were physically challenged (68%) followed by visually impaired (25%) while the remaining were deaf and dumb, and intellectual malfunctioning. With those who indicated that they were born with the disability (23%), deaf and dumb carried the majority (83%), followed by physically challenged and visually impaired. This indicates that there is a lower chance of being deaf and dumb as compared to being physically challenged and visually impaired through the interaction with the environment.

Again, it can be stated that the interaction with the environment has a higher tendency of resulting in physically challenged and visually impaired than being deaf and dumb. Social Investigation reports on persons with disability indicated that road accidents, snake bites, injections from the hospital, convulsion, measles, boils, stroke, fire outbreak, aging, accident at work places, sickle cell, diabetes, buruli ulcer, and farm accidents are major causes of various forms of disabilities. Others indicated unknown causes which they speculated as spiritual attacks and generational curses as part of the major forms of disabilities. It is worth noting that though all these causes are bound to occur to both rich and poor, educated and uneducated, old and young, it is the poor, old and uneducated who suffer more and depend on the government and other stakeholders for support.

When it comes to accessibility to public facilities and services, all are affected. This, therefore, calls for collective responsibility to ensure better environment are secured such that in case one falls into any category of the forms of disability, he/she will not struggle much. Some researchers even argue that majority of children born with disabilities occurred as a result of interaction between the environment and their mothers when they were pregnant. Drugs overdose, drugs abuse, smoking, abuse of alcohol, diseases especially STDs, domestic violence against mothers during pregnancy, cancer, attempted abortions, improper dieting, environmental pollution, among others, can lead to various forms of disability. It can therefore be concluded that majority of causes of disability is as a result of our interaction with the environment.

In moving forward, we all have to ensure that persons with disability find themselves in an environment that will support them interact effectively. One way of achieving this is to ensure that provisions in the Disability Act are followed and enforced. Also, since it has been established that most forms of disability are acquired through various forms of interaction with the environment, all existing laws protecting lives must be enforced. This also calls for individuals without disability to be extra careful with their lifestyles.

Jeffery Amo – Asare

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