The Accessible Ghana Dream: How Ghana Can Build a Nation Where No Youth with Disability Is Left Behind

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Ghana stands at a defining moment.
Our national anthem calls us to cherish fearless honesty, yet many young persons with disabilities continue to live in the margins of society: excluded in schools, overlooked in institutions, and invisible in national data.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 billion people live with a disability. Ghana’s 2021 Population and Housing Census recorded that about 2.4 million Ghanaians, representing 8 percent of the population, are persons with disabilities. Nearly 60 percent of this population is under the age of 35. They are young, talented, and capable, yet too often systematically excluded.

The World Bank warns that nations lose up to 7 percent of GDP due to disability exclusion. This represents a profound loss of human capital, skills, creativity, and productivity. For Ghana, this translates into billions of cedis in foregone economic potential every year. The issue is not a lack of ability. It is a lack of inclusion.

If Ghana is genuinely committed to achieving Vision 2057, Agenda 2030, job creation, digitalization, and national development, then we must confront an uncomfortable truth: we are building a two-speed society where some move ahead while others remain behind.

Ghana is welcoming, yet not always inclusive. We pride ourselves on community but still show intolerance toward differences. These attitudes manifest in everyday spaces.

A boy who stammers becomes a source of mockery.
A girl with cerebral palsy is seen as a spiritual concern rather than a student.
A deaf youth is told a job is “not for your type”.
A wheelchair user must justify his desire to do National Service.
A visually impaired young man is told he cannot enter a bank hall without an escort.

Even today, too many families hide children with disabilities indoors. Schools quietly refuse enrolment. Institutions assume that disability means incapacity. These behaviours have become so normalised that many do not recognise them as discriminatory. The unspoken rule in our society remains: you cannot afford to be different.

Behind every barrier is a human story.

A young man denied access because of his condition
In November 2025, a viral video showed a young man with cerebral palsy being questioned harshly and denied entry to an institution in Cape Coast as he sought employment. His only offence was moving differently. This was not an isolated case. It reflects a broader national pattern of exclusion.

A visually impaired student unable to join an online class
Not because he lacked a device.
Not because the platform required payment.
But because the digital platform was not compatible with screen readers.
A simple design choice became a lifelong obstacle.

A deaf entrepreneur unable to pitch her business
She prepared and innovated. Yet the webinar hosting the pitch session had no sign language interpretation. A funding opportunity vanished because accessibility was overlooked.

A skilled coder in Wa locked out of a tech hub
He codes with exceptional skill. Yet the tech hub organising a training session had narrow doorways, no ramp, and no accessible workstations.

These stories reflect thousands of young Ghanaians who confront barriers the system should have removed long ago.

Technology drives modern education, governance, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. Digital exclusion is fast becoming the new barrier for persons with disabilities.

True digital inclusion requires:

• Government platforms that meet international accessibility standards.

• Assistive devices integrated into national digitalization efforts.

• Accessible workspaces in technology hubs across the country.

• Tailored digital skills training for youth with disabilities.

• Inclusive design features such as captioning, interpretation, screen-reader compatibility, and voice recognition tools.

When digital inclusion aligns with disability inclusion, Ghana strengthens its innovation ecosystem and expands opportunities for national development.

Ghana is a society where young people are often told to wait their turn. For youth with disabilities, this barrier is doubled. They face both age-based and disability-based discrimination. Their ideas are dismissed, their leadership underestimated, and their participation limited.

Yet no one understands accessibility better than those who experience barriers daily. They are the innovators designing solutions for the future. They must be central to shaping disability-inclusion frameworks.

Silencing the youth with disabilities means slowing national progress.

Accessibility is not an act of charity. It is a requirement for economic growth.

Disability inclusion advances several Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty reduction, quality education, decent work, innovation, reduced inequalities, and stronger partnerships. Ghana cannot meet its economic ambitions while millions remain excluded from contributing to national development.

Across the country, young persons with disabilities are redefining what is possible.

A visually impaired entrepreneur producing “abenkwan” powder
She modernised a traditional delicacy into a commercial product, serving diverse customers and creating livelihoods.

Sampson, a young programmer with cerebral palsy
He built an e-commerce platform intentionally accessible for blind users, addressing a gap left by mainstream tech companies.

A visually impaired farmer employing dozens
He supports both disabled and non-disabled workers, contributing to food security and community development.

These achievements are not exceptions. They are evidence of what happens when talent finds opportunity. Imagine what Ghana could gain if such opportunities were the norm rather than the exception.

Government

• Integrate disability data into national systems.

• Fully enforce the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715).

• Fast-track a National Accessibility Standards Bill.

• Adopt inclusive budgeting across ministries.

Parliament

• Enforce mandatory accessibility for infrastructure, transport, media, and ICT systems.

Private Sector

• Hire based on competence.

• Invest in assistive technology and accessible product design.

Development Partners

• Align programmes with disability-inclusive frameworks.

• Prioritise funding that strengthens accessibility and youth leadership.

Media

• Promote stories of innovation and resilience rather than portrayals of pity.

Families and Communities

• Replace stigma with support.

• Encourage, rather than shield or hide.

Youth with Disabilities

Your leadership is essential.
Your lived experience informs better policy, design, and implementation.
Your voice must shape the future of inclusion.

A Ghana where:

• Every child with a disability attends an accessible school.

• Every youth with a disability competes fairly in the job market.

• Every innovator with a disability can grow a business.

• Every citizen participates in society with dignity.

This vision is not abstract. It is achievable with deliberate investment, collaboration, and commitment.

Ghana is already taking steps in this direction. Institutions such as the National Youth Authority, Ghana Enterprises Agency, and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program are designing programmes that support skills development and entrepreneurship among young persons with disabilities. Development partners like GIZ, UNDP, and Sightsavers are supporting initiatives that enhance accessibility, training, and economic participation.

Key programmes including the National Apprenticeship Program, Free Tertiary Education for Students with Disabilities, the Adwumawura initiative, and Young Africa Innovates offer meaningful pathways for growth. Yet policy gaps, limited participation in decision-making, and persistent stigma continue to restrict full empowerment.

The creation of the GFD Youth Committee in April 2025 represents a significant milestone. It ensures that young persons with disabilities are actively involved in shaping the policies and programmes that affect their lives. It signals a shift toward the principle that must guide all national inclusion efforts: nothing about us, without us.

Conclusion: A Generation Called to Build

The time for sympathy is over. The time for systems is here.
Ghana cannot continue discussing inclusion without acting on it. The generation that builds accessible infrastructure, demands inclusive policies, designs accessible technologies, and elevates the voices of young persons with disabilities will shape the nation’s future.

Disability is not a deficit.
It is diversity, ability, potential, and innovation.

Let this generation be remembered for making inclusion real.
Not as charity.
Not as symbolism.
But as a foundation for national development.

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