Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, has stated that the government is working hard to promote digital inclusion because of the benefits it provides to both individuals and the country as a whole.
She stated that the government is committed to closing all forms of the digital divide by ensuring that all citizens benefit equally and equitably from digital skills, products, and services.
“We are actively working to close the gender digital divide, and I believe women living with disabilities suffer twice as much as men,” she said at a workshop hosted by the Ghana India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence on Wednesday, November 2.
The Ablekuma West Member of Parliament indicated that “We are establishing a digital Ghana in which all citizens are equipped to contribute meaningfully and the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, which is tasked with overseeing and coordinating all ICT-related activities or initiatives, has invested in digital infrastructure, which the public and private sectors are leveraging to improve our socio-economic development.
“Giving the right skills to Persons with disability and providing them with assistive technologies will enable them take advantage of the available job opportunities and even work remotely, conveniently and safely. We will leave no one be
“Through the Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, the Ministry is enhancing internet access through GIFEC with the goal of connecting people in unserved and underserved communities around the country.”
To position Ghana as a vibrant ICT hub, she stated, the Ministry has established the Ghana Digital Center, which provides the necessary environment, infrastructure, and services to support ICT growth.
“We are in the process of establishing regional innovation centers to provide citizens with access to these ICT facilities. I encourage the youth including the physically challenged to utilise the Ghana Digital Centre and ICT Labs to develop ICT solutions aimed at addressing social issues including the peculiar ones faced by PWDs.
“The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) also conducts digital skills training for people in unserved and underserved communities to address the digital skills gap. It may interest you to know that people with disabilities make up at least 30% of those who enroll in these digital skills training programs. they have also provided training and assistive devices to several students with disability in secondary and tertiary institutions across the country
“GIFEC also collaborates with GIZ to provide PWDs with digital training. This year, 150 people with disabilities were trained on how to use handheld devices to access information and government services.
“Assistive technologies were provided to these PWDs so that they could use the device without difficulty. We have established community information centers in all districts to support access to ICT tools as part of the sustainability measures for these digital trainings.”
