Fifty health professionals from mainly public health institutions in the Kwaebibirim and the Denkyenbuor Districts have acquired training in the early detection and treatment of children with Intellectual Disability (ID) challenges.

The training was also to empower the health workers to appreciate the challenges faced by persons with ID and their parents in accessing healthcare and to offer the necessary support to ensure that the rights of such persons to healthcare are respected.

It was organized by Inclusion Ghana, a network for organizations working for and with persons with ID and Talent Search International, a Non-Governmental Organization with funding from STAR-Ghana.

Speaking at the function, Mrs Nana Akua Owusu, a speech and language therapist at the School of Allied Science, University of Ghana, advised parents with children with ID challenges to seek early treatment for their children so that the children would be trained to lead independent lifestyles.

She explained that, where such children are not trained, their mothers always need to be around to care for them and in cases where the affected person cannot respond appropriately to issues like nature's call, the child and the mother tend to face a lot of discrimination.

Mrs Owusu advised health personnel to engage the services of specialists and staff of the Department of Social Welfare where necessary, when dealing with people with ID and their parents.

Mr Festus Buetey Longmatey, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inclusion Ghana said the project is a pilot one expected to be extended to other parts of the country.

He explained that the project was based on a survey conducted by Inclusion Ghana last year which indicated that persons with ID face discrimination and other deeply entrenched barriers when accessing healthcare.

Mr Longmatey urged the participants to extend the knowledge they have acquired to their other colleagues who did not get the opportunity to attend the training.

He said the training is also expected to be extended to other institutions like the Police Service, the Judiciary and the Ghana Education Service, to ensure the promotion of the rights of persons with ID.

He said another area of the project is to mobilize parents of persons with ID to support efforts to fight for the rights of such persons.