The Ghana Somubi Dwumadie project, being implemented by Hope for Future Generation (HFFG) and the psykForum on Tuesday 5th April 2022, organized a one day workshop for stakeholders in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region at Damongo Agriculture College sponsored by UKAID.
Speaking at the stakeholders workshop, the Programs Manager of HFFG Incharge of Somubi Dwumadia project, Mr. Anthony Dogbedo, underscored the need for Ghanaians to end any form of discrimination against mentally challenged or physically challenged persons.
He said, “People living with disabilities (PWD) rather deserve love and support so that they could strive”.
He said caring for the PWDs should be a shared responsibility but not a business for one man.
“I encourage the media to play a critical role in educating the general public to stop discriminating, stigmatizing and also using abuse of words on person living with Disability or Mentally challenge person In our society” .
In addition Mr Anthony said ‘the main reason of organizing such a program is that they have identify the media as a key stakeholder when it comes to influencing behavioral change, the media have a huge platform that is why targeting the media has become necessary because the language that is used in the media to describe people living with disability including people with mentally challenge, he said’.
Speaking with Yagbon Radio, the SBC project officer Mr. Fuseini Abdul Raham said the main purpose of organizing such program is to engage with the District Assemble’s to see the best way to inculcate issues of disability and mental health into their by-laws.
He said, a lot of them have laws but they are not gazetted and some don’t even have so if their able to take the issues of by-laws and then create a column that deals with effectively issues affecting people living with Disability including Metal health it will go along way to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with Disability and metal health.
In an interview with the president of Ghana Federation of Disability(GFD) Mr. Takora Dramani in the Savannah Region commended the Ghana Somubi Dwumadie Project, Hope for Future Generation and the psykForum for organizing such a program for them.
He added that it’s good to educate our people not to be using abusive words on them.
So he entreated the public to stop calling them names. If one is caught, you will be prosecuted or jailed,he stated.
Source: yagbonradioonline/Fataw Diwura
