The Challenged Foundation has launched a nationwide petition urging the Government of Ghana to enforce existing accessibility laws and ensure that persons with disabilities can fully access education and public services.
The announcement comes amid growing concerns that physical barriers continue to hinder participation for learners and citizens with disabilities, despite recent policy advances.
The initiative follows the government’s historic declaration of free tertiary education for persons with disabilities—a milestone celebrated by the Foundation as a step toward inclusion, dignity, and opportunity.
However, the Foundation notes that many persons with disabilities still face significant access challenges in schools, universities, public offices, courts, and transport systems.
Among the barriers cited are the lack of ramps, elevators, and accessible toilets in schools and universities; public transport systems that remain largely inaccessible; courts and district assemblies that cannot be accessed independently; inadequate and misused reserved disability parking; the absence of tactile paths, signage, and support systems in public facilities; and students and citizens being forced to rely on assistance to navigate facilities, undermining their independence and dignity.
According to the Foundation, these challenges violate Section 6 of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), which mandates that all public spaces provide appropriate facilities for persons with disabilities. The group stressed that its call is not for special privileges, but for equal rights guaranteed under Ghana’s Constitution, particularly Article 29(6).
The petition outlines clear objectives, including accessible buildings in schools and universities, disability-friendly public offices and courts, inclusive public transport systems, properly enforced disability parking, accessible toilets and campus facilities, nationwide audits and retrofitting of public facilities, accessibility desks at all MMDAs, public education campaigns on disability inclusion, and full enforcement of Act 715 and Building Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2465).
Mrs. Veronica L. Amartey-Owusu, Founder of the Challenged Foundation, emphasized that persons with disabilities deserve access, independence, and dignity—not sympathy. She encouraged all ministries, public institutions, and members of the public to support the initiative.
The petition can be signed online at: https://www.change.org/OpenTheDoorsForPWDs.
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