Disability Bill Reaches Cabinet After Two Decades of Advocacy in Ghana
After twenty years of sustained campaigning by disability rights organisations, the revised Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2026 has finally been submitted to Ghana’s Cabinet for review, marking a significant milestone in the country’s long struggle to protect the rights of its disabled population.
Edwin Kweku Andoh, Executive Secretary of the National Council on Persons with Disabilities, announced the development on Thursday at a forum organised by the Ghana National Association of the Deaf, with support from the United Nations Development Programme. The event brought together disability advocacy groups and members of the Parliamentary Caucus on Disability to discuss the revised legislation.
Andoh urged organisations representing persons with disabilities and Members of Parliament to intensify their advocacy efforts as the bill enters what campaigners hope will be its final legislative stretch. He also disclosed that the African Disability Protocol had been laid before Parliament.
The bill’s submission to Cabinet represents the culmination of a process that began two decades ago, when disability groups first began pressing for comprehensive legal protections. Ghana is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but advocates have long argued that domestic legislation has failed to adequately reflect the convention’s principles.
Dr Edward Ampratwum, Head of the Transformative Governance Cluster at the UNDP, framed the bill as both a moral and developmental imperative. “No country can achieve reasonable development when a population of about 2.8 million are left behind,” he said, calling on Parliament to treat the legislation with urgency.
Juventus Duorinaah, Executive Secretary of GNAD, said the revised bill offered Ghana an opportunity to bring its laws into alignment with international standards. Peter Anoma-Kodie, Executive Director of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, stressed that persons with disabilities must be meaningfully involved in shaping the final document before it becomes law, invoking the principle of “nothing about us without us.”
The forum also highlighted gaps in the current legal framework. Disability activist Beatrice Akua Mamhood drew attention to intersectional challenges, noting that women with disabilities face compounded stigma, while caregivers of children with developmental and intellectual disabilities remain largely overlooked by existing policies.
Ms Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Minister of Tourism and a member of the Parliamentary Disability Caucus, renewed her commitment to championing the bill. Other MPs present also pledged their support, offering the disability community cautious optimism that the legislation may finally cross the finish line.
The bill now awaits Cabinet deliberation before it can be formally introduced in Parliament for debate and passage.
Image Source: GHANA BUSINESS NEWS
