Government to provide stipends for disability caregivers

Vivian Sarpomaa Fiscian, Leadership and Governance Advisor for the Ghana Somubi Dwumadie project, has announced that the government of Ghana will soon provide stipends to individuals caring for persons with disabilities.

This announcement was made during the closing conference of the Ghana Somubi Dwumadie program, a UK government initiative launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to support mental health and disability issues, as these marginalised groups were often overlooked in the distribution of PPEs and relief packages.

Mrs. Sarpomaa Fiscian stated that the exclusion of marginalised groups during the pandemic led the Ghana Somubi Dwumadie program to partner with psychiatric hospitals and disability organisations.

As a result, the program focused on providing social interventions to three psychiatric hospitals, the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, and other disability groups.

“This is the closing conference of our program that started in 2020. We’ve been working in Ghana for the past four and a half years on disability and mental health. We began during COVID when PPEs were distributed, and psychiatric hospitals, along with persons with disabilities, including those with mental health issues, were not considered. This gave us the opportunity to target these institutions for social interventions,” she revealed.

She underscored the program’s significant impact over the past four and a half years addressing stigma and ensuring inclusion of people with disabilities, particularly the blind.

“Over the last four years, we’ve made huge impacts. You heard most of the speakers talk about stigma. In our country, people with disabilities, particularly the blind, were not allowed into places like the chief’s palace. We have worked to ensure that they are considered and engaged, giving them opportunities to interact with policymakers and authorities,” she explained.

She also pointed to one of the program’s key achievements—the launch of new disability guidelines for managing and disbursing the common fund and addressing inadequate social interventions for people with disabilities in Ghana through collaborations.

“Today the highlight has been the launch of the disability guidelines for the management and disbursements of the common fund. When we took over the program, we realised that social interventions in Ghana were very weak; people with disabilities were considered and targeted, so we took the opportunity to generate evidence around the common fund’s implementation from 2010 to 2020, and we found a huge gap.”

“We’ve worked on implementation from 2010 to 2020, and we found a huge gap. We’ve worked with GFD, the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, NDPC, and the National Council for persons with disabilities, and we did a review and a revision of guidelines.”

“The guidelines launched today ensure that if you are a carer, and because of the time spent caring for a family member with a disability, you will receive a stipend to help cover utilities,” she added.

Mrs. Sarpomaa Fiscian also assured that there will be no revenue leakage, as the guidelines clearly define 26 types of disabilities, ensuring that only these are considered for support.