Prevalence of children with disabilities in central region, Ghana.

A cross sectional survey was conducted in Central Region, Ghana to determine the prevalence of children with disabilities. Forty-seven (1.8%) out of a total of 2,556 children under fifteen years of age had disabilities. About a third, had difficulty with movement of which post poliomyelitis infection disability formed the majority. Twelve children (25.5%) had difficulty with hearing and speech (deaf and dumb). Three children were reported as having epilepsy and 2 others had mental retardation. There was no case of total blindness, however, two children complained of poor vision and three others had a squint. Other disabilities identified, included one child each with kyphosis (hunch back), hydrocephalus (very large head) and extensive facial scars from burns. Disability was more common among children who had not been immunized or who did not have immunization card at the time of interview. The prevalence of disability was higher among female children in the rural community and in children with no formal education. Prevalence of disability increased with age. The prevalence of disability was 14.4 per 1,000 for children (1-5) years, 16.6 per 1000 for children (6-9) years and 3.7 per 1,000 for (10-15) years age group. Younger children had better immunization status and lower disability rates. Thirty percent of the children with disability said they were experiencing discrimination especially among the female children. This study has demonstrated that there is a need to intensify the preventive efforts at reducing the problem of childhood disability and to increase public support to the disabled children by avoiding discrimination and encouraging education and training of the disabled children.