District Assemblies urged to prioritise special needs parents in disbursing disability funds

Mrs Esther Mawusi Bribi, a special needs mother to child with Cerebral palsy has called on the District Assemblies to pay attention to special needs parents in the disbursement of the funds for Persons with disabilities.She said I have tried for the last six years to get some funds from the Assembly as a special needs mother to expand my provision shop but to no avail'Taking care of my 10-year-old son with Cerebral palsy is expensive and there is the need for extra support from government, however, I have never benefited from the funds given by the District Assemblies to Persons with disabilities.Mrs Bribi who shared her experience with the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy platform on issues affecting families raising children with Cerebral palsy and other disabilities, told the Ghana News Agency that ' I have sent my application to the Amasaman District Assembly on three occasions and yet I have never received a penny from them to support my son.She expressed the belief that there must be someth ing wrong somewhere and wished she could understand what was going on.'Some of my friends special needs mothers who know people working within the Assembly have received funds, some of them even twice but I have never received any funds despite applying legitimately ', she said.Mrs Bribi advised the district Assemblies to eschew nepotism and prioritise the issues of parents' caregivers of children with disabilities.The government recently launched the revised guidelines for the disbursement of the district Assembly funds for Persons with disabilities.The revised guidelines, among other things prioritise the needs of children with disabilities and their caregivers.Source: Ghana News Agency