Challenges of inclusion : local support systems and social service arrangements for persons with disabilities in Suhum, Ghana : Baseline Study Report

Abstract

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) obliges States Parties to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of person with disabilities. The Republic of Ghana ratified the CRPD in 2012 and started to adopt legislative and policy measures for its implementation at all government levels. But how are these legislative and policy measures being taken up in Ghanaian districts? Which approaches for a local implementation of the CRPD prove to be effective in Ghana? These and further questions were addressed by researchers of the Department of Social Work at the University of Ghana and the Centre for Planning and Evaluation of Social Services (ZPE) at University of Siegen, Germany in a Pilot Project at Suhum Municipal, in the Eastern Region of Ghana, implemented between July 2017 and June 2018. This report presents the findings of a qualitative baseline study on support systems and social service arrangements for persons with disabilities in Suhum, which was conducted in late 2017 as part the pilot project.