Credits: Social Media
It was difficult before but it is worse now : Living with disability during a pandemic in Ghana
Living with blindness for 20 years, 50-year-old Ramatu Mama is not yet aware that the world is fighting an unprecedented pandemic. Shes sitting among a group of women on her mat at the entrance of a mosque. Unlike most days, she wont spend her day on the streets of Accra, Ghanas capital city, under the scorching sun, begging for money.
I have two children, so I have to go out every morning to beg people for money to be able to feed them and myself, she says.
A day ago, she joined a long queue to the end of the street where a rich man parked his car to share money to the community. Every weekend, they look forward to a visit from a generous person who will come to share money, and yesterday was one of those days.
Sabon Zongo, a community in Accra, is known for its vulnerable population including refugees, and people with disabilities. The majority of the beggars on the streets of Accra live in this community. They commute from here every morning to the centre of the city to beg for money.
These people were among the most affected by Ghanas lock-down. Though each household received a bag of rice and a bottle of vegetable oil as part of the relief items for vulnerable communities, as announced by the government, the three-week long lock-down was the most difficult three weeks of their lives, they say.
At the time of publication, Ghana has recorded 14,154 confirmed covid-19 cases, with Greater Accra region having the highest case count of 8,075.
Since the government lifted the lock-down and eased restrictions, the people have returned to the streets, but it has become evident that the coronavirus pandemic has worsened the plight of persons with disabilities.
If I get coronavirus, I dont know what I would do,
A few days after Yussif arrived in Ghana from Niger, he started begging on the streets of Accra and that has become his source of livelihood. As a person with disabilities, the 35-year-old left his native country 20 years ago with nothing but his crutches.
I was born this way, so theres nothing else I can do aside begging, he says with his head bowed.
Yussif pays 350 cedis yearly to his landlord for a small wooden structure in Sabon Zongo. 1 Ghana cedi is enough to use the public toilet and bathroom, and he spends the rest of his money on food, clothes and medicine. This is why he leaves home at 5am every morning to join the beggars on the streets of Accra.
I used to make between 20 to 30 cedis daily, but now, due to covid-19, I can barely make 10 cedis, he says.
It was difficult before, but it is worse now. When you approach a car, they roll up their windows and turn away from you; they are afraid of the virus.
Yussif says he has never been to a hospital. He would go to a pharmacy or buy a drug from herbal medicine men whenever he falls sick.
If I get the coronavirus, I dont know what I will do, he says, solemnly.
Some persons with disability already have underlying health conditions and require constant medical check-ups but due to covid-19, that is no longer possible because they are scared of contracting the virus at the hospitals, says Kwame Daklo, project officer at Ghana Association of Persons with Albinism.
There were already inequalities in accessing public services and disabled people already experienced some forms of violence, rejection and neglect from society, but the pandemic has worsened it.
I have been called coronavirus man on several occasions because of the colour of my skin. Persons with albinism are now tagged with covid-19, because some people have associated the virus with the Chinese and since our skin looks white, they feel we have the virus, he says.
Kwame has already been in three media interviews this morning to raise awareness about the alleged ritual killing of persons with albinism by politicians during elections with the belief that certain parts of their bodies possess magical powers. Amidst covid-19, persons with albinism are living in fear because Ghanas general election is a few months away.
… People used to feel bad turning you away, but now they have a good reason to do so,
In front of another wooden structure, a father of two, Abubakar Haruna, sits in his wheelchair. He used to be a member of the Ghana Amputee Football Association. He says he was a devoted player, but he could no longer play on an empty stomach
He has, since, joined the beggars on the streets of Accra. Abubakar says he is now able to make money to fend for himself and his children, but there are days when he has to borrow from friends to be able to buy food or visit the hospital.
Since the virus hit, things have become difficult. There are days that I go out to beg and return with nothing. People used to feel bad turning you away, but now they have a good reason to do so, he says.
Adam Salansa, the Chairman of the International Federation of Skate Soccer (IFSS), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the development of people with physical disabilities, predominantly, polio survivors, lives in a small wooden structure with his wife and their six children.
He moved from his hometown, Sunyani, the capital of the Bono Region, in Ghana to Accra in search of a better life. Like most people living with disability in Sabon Zongo, Adam begs for money on the streets of Accra, but when he is not on the street, he is the chairman of IFSS.
We get 10 cedis per appearance, so when theres no match or program, I dont get anything at all. That is why sometimes I have go to the streets and beg too, he says.
For 15 years, the International Federation of Skate Soccer has been organising matches for persons with physical disabilities, with Binatone Electronics International Limited as their main sponsor, but the coronavirus pandemic has changed that too.
They say they have withdrawn their help for now. we dont even play anymore so people who normally came to watch us and sometimes give us money have also stopped, he says, just before going back to play with his daughters.
Adams only hope is now on the street of Accra, begging like everyone else.
Several disability associations and governmental organisations try to get them off the streets, but they are forced to return because these organisations can hardly cater for their needs. Social welfare services should take responsibility and help provide support for them, Kwame told The Focus.
Disabled people on the streets of Accra, including children with disabilities, are not registered members of the regional and district associations for people with disabilities or associations under the Ghana Federation Disability Organisations, hence they hardly get access to any form of support by the state or non-profit organisations. One of such support systems is the District Assemblies Common Fund for people with disabilities.
I have never benefited from that fund
As an institution, the office of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) is mandated to disburse 3% of the District Assemblies Common Fund, created under Article 252 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana, to help cater for the needs of people with disabilities.
My school fees were paid twice when I was in the university, says Kwame Daklo, who graduated from the University of Education,Winneba, in 2014.
Until 2018, it was distributed in cash but to ensure that the fund is used for its intended purposes, the DACF published new guidelines for disbursement.
If you identify a business or a trade that you want, they will buy the equipment for you. If you are in school, they will pay your school fees into the schools bank account, he says.
However, local media reported that the new guidelines, according to the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, excluded farmers, traders, students, persons under 18 and persons above 60 from benefiting.
In fact, the continuous delay in disbursement of the common fund for person with disabilities is not only leading to frustration and a further increase in poverty levels among persons with disabilities, but also exposes the fund to abuse, misapplication and unnecessary borrowing by some Municipal and District Assemblies, the federation said in a statement released in the same year.
At the beginning of Ghanas fight against the pandemic, Robert Sampana, an activist for persons with disabilities and a member of the Ghana National Association of the Deaf, went on local media platforms, including the state broadcaster, GTV, to petition the government to consider people with hearing loss in its communication efforts.
Deaf people didnt have access to information until I petitioned for the service of a sign language interpreter to be brought in, he says.
At 12 years old, Robert became deaf as a result of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM), an endemic in Ghana, with the highest cases recorded in the regions in the north of the country. According to a statement released by the Ghana Health Service in April, 2020, a total of 409 cases were reported in Ghanas five regions in the north this year, resulting in 40 deaths, a case fertility higher than covid-19s at the time.
You are hearing music and listening to people talk and then suddenly your world becomes silent. I am not alone. Many deaf people had that too. I am even blessed I didnt go blind. CSM is worse than coronavirus.
In 1996, the Nippon Foundation in Japan offered Robert a scholarship to study Digital Technology and Theology at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Gardner Webb University respectively, in the United States of America.
Since his return to Ghana in 2004, he has worked for an NGO and recently at the Ghana National Association for the Deaf as a project officer, both jobs on contract basis.
The contract ended last year in December and I havent landed a job yet, he said, in a WhatsApp conversation.
To be honest, most employers dont believe in the capacity of deaf people. The negative perception about deaf people regardless of who you are, is always there.
Robert says most disabled people have lost their jobs due to covid-19, and job seeking has become more difficult than before.
I applied for a job with the Peace Corps Ghana and the National Disability Council, but learned they have put things on hold due to the virus. I havent heard of any vacancy yet, he says.
Unlike Kwame, Robert says he has personally never benefited from that fund [the District Assemblies Common Fund for persons with disabilities].
I wanted to go to into animal and crop farming, so I applied for support but I guess I am on the waiting list, Robert says, adding grinning face emojis.
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