vulnerability
Introduction

The development of a nation depends on the important contributions of not only a segment of the population but on the collective contributions of every individual, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). It is imperative therefore, to get reliable data that would inform policies and programmes aimed at addressing the challenges confronting PWDs. In the 2010 PHC data were collected on PWDs. This chapter discusses PWDs, their education and economic activity status in the Akatsi North District.

Population with Disability

Table 6.1 presents data on the population with disability by type and sex in the district in 2010. The persons with disability are 4.1 percent of the total population. Among female population, 4.4 percent have disability compared with 3.7 percent among males.

Table 6.1 also shows PWDs by type. Sight disability is the commonest (45.6%), followed by physical disability (26.8%) and hearing disability (19.1%). The least common type is emotional disability (9.7%).

The proportion of females with sight disability (50.5%) is higher than that of males (38.8%). On the other hand, the proportion of males with physical disability (27.9%) is relatively higher than their female counterparts (26.0%).

 Disability and Economic Activity

Table 6.2 presents data on persons 15 years and older with disability by economic activity status and sex in the district. Three-quarters (75.3%) of persons without disability and 56.6 percent of persons with disability are employed. Less than one-quarter (23.4%) of persons without disability and 43.0 percent of persons with disability are economically not active.

Persons with hearing (63.4%) and speech (61.6%) disabilities are more likely than others to be employed.