Leaving No One behind: An Assessment of Access to the District Assembly Common Fund among Women with Disability in Northern Ghana

Charlotte Ofori, Regional Institute For Population Studies, University Of Ghana
John Ganle, University of Ghana, School of Public Health

Using data from 712women-with-disabilities(WWDs) in some communities in northern Ghana, we evaluate factors associated with access to the Disability-Common-Fund(DCF), a social-protection program in Ghana. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to examine the relationship between the independent-variables and WWDs awareness of and access to the social protection intervention in Ghana. Four in ten WWDs were aware of the Fund and 40% of these have ever accessed it. Women 25-34years and 35-44years, those with junior secondary-education, employed and those who have ever heard about the Ghana’s Disability-Act-715 were more likely to be aware of the DCF and to have accessed it. Never married-women were more likely to have accessed the Fund compared to those married/cohabiting. Women who were members of a women’s group were more likely to have been aware of the Fund. In order to build an all-inclusive society, policymakers and advocacy groups must improve upon access to information on social-protection programs for WWDs.