COVID-19: PWDs in rural communities call for support
As the COVID 19 pandemic is wreaking havoc across the globe, people in the most vulnerable situations are hit the hardest by this crisis as it is exacerbating structural inequalities in rural communities.
Though some of the Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) were already facing serious challenges before the crisis started, the effects of the pandemic have worsened their situations.
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In rural farming communities in the North East Region where poverty and hunger are severe, most vulnerable persons including physically challenged persons and the aged are bearing the brunt of the pandemic.
While some of them cannot afford three square meals a day because they have lost their ventures in the wake of the deadly crisis, others who hitherto lived on the benevolence of their community members are no longer getting such support.
Checks also revealed that, some of them are not able to access basic social amenities such as healthcare because they want to stay away from crowd in order not to contract the virus.
Sharing her ordeal with Graphic Online, Madam Simon Fati, a 32 years-old physically challenged woman who lives at Jilik, a farming community in the Bunkpurugu district said "I was a cobbler sewing sandals at Bunkpurugu town but because of COVID 19 I have stopped ".
The physically challenged woman who have five children said she have been doing that business to take care of her children but now she has stopped because she wants to stay safe.
"Life has been very tough for my family, so currently I survive on the benevolence of people because my husband too cannot afford " she lamented.
Unlike Madam Fati who lost her business venture, Madam Azuma Kombat, a 90 years-old blind woman have been begging for alms for survival but can no longer do so.
According to her, she used to move round towns to beg for alms but since the outbreak of the pandemic she has stopped and now live on the benevolence of people.
"I don't have anybody to take care of me and I have been blind since childhood, sometimes I sleep on empty stomach if I don't get money or food from any benevolent person" she said.
Checks revealed that some of the PWDs were beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, an initiative by the government to mitigate their plight, whereas others were not beneficiaries of the programme.
There are about 300 PWDs in the region, however, not all of them are enrolled onto the programme.
According to the PWDs, the grant giving to them were not enough to take care of their needs and therefore called for an increase in the grant they receive to help improve their livelihoods, especially in this era of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over 3000 physically challenged persons have been enrolled onto to the programme in the district with the last year of enrollment being 2017.
The District Deputy Director of Social Welfare, Mr Osei Boateng in a recent interview with Graphic Online said not all the vulnerable persons met the criteria for enrollment, explaining that persons with multiple disabilities were considered for programme.
He, however, said the department had taken notice of those who were not on the programme and would assess for subsequent enrollment.
"Some of them were not qualified for the programme during the last enrollment not that we deliberately ignored them, per the ratings we look at those with extreme poverty and multiple disabilities. As times goes on when they all qualify, they will be enrolled”.
Currently, households with one eligible member receive GHc64.00 per payment cycle, those with two eligible members receive GHc76.00 per payment cycle, three eligible members receive GHc88.00 per payment cycle and households with four or more eligible members –GHc106.00 per payment cycle.
When contacted, the Northern Regional President of the Ghana Federation of Disability, Mr Mohammed Iddrisu said the plight of the vulnerable peoples in the area have worsened as they had not benefited from government’s package for them.
“When the government announced a stimulus package for the vulnerable most of our members didn’t get because they have politicized it, so most of them are still suffering because the little businesses they were doing have collapse because of the COVID” he lamented.
He appealed to the government and benevolent organisations to support the vulnerable groups with capital for business to help alleviate their plight.
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 8 sought to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Target 5 of the goal sought to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value by 2030.
With the devastating impact of the pandemic on lives, there is need for the government to initiate a special intervention to take care of the needs of persons with disabilities and pay more attention to their welfare.