20 years after Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), has Ghana moved from Promises to Inclusion?

On any weekday morning, the city awakens to its familiar rhythm, with vendors calling out prices, trotro mates announcing destinations, and office workers navigating the endless traffic in pursuit of another day's livelihood. It is a scene of energy and hope. Amid this bustling movement, many Ghanaians remain unseen. For thousands of persons with disability (PWDs), daily life is less a routine and more a constant struggle to navigate a system that was never designed with their needs in mind. Each day begins not with excitement, but with anxiety and uncertainty. Simple activities that others take for granted, such as boarding a bus, crossing a street, entering a bank, visiting a hospital, or accessing a public office, become exhausting battles against barriers that society has erected and too often ignored. The city moves forward with purpose, but for thousands of persons with disability, each day is a struggle to navigate a world that has not been built with them in mind. It is important to remember that none of us is immune to disability. The distance from ability to disability is only one event, one accident, one illness, one diagnosis, or simply the inevitable process of ageing. Disability is not a minority issue; it is a human issue. It is a reality that can touch any one of us. That is why disability rights are not acts of charity; they are investments in our shared humanity and safeguards for our collective future. Every law on disability is, ultimately, a law about ourselves and the kind of society we aspire to build. Shakespeare’s timeless words remind us that every human being embodies inherent dignity and profound potential. As he writes in Hamlet: “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty!” These words echo across centuries, challenging us to build a society where such worth is recognised, respected, and reflected in our systems, infrastructure, and attitudes, especially for persons with disability (PWDs).