Introduction

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) have been defined as those who are unable to or are restricted in the performance of specific tasks/activities due to loss of function of some part of the body as a result of disability or malformation (GSS, 2010 PHC).

Integrating PWDs into economic activities through improved design of housing and other infrastructure such as transportation, walkways and pedestrian bridges in the country is an important development issue. Therefore the 2010 PHC, gathered data on the population with disability, type of disability, distribution by type of locality and socio-economic data, which are presented under this chapter.

Type of disability

The sex distribution of disabilities reveals that about three percent (2.9%) of the male population in the District are disabled while females constitute more than three percent (3.5%). It is realized from the Figure that among the male population with disability, sight constitute the majority (43.3%) followed by physical disability (27.8%) and the least is persons with intellectual disability (0.4%). Females with disability follow the same pattern as the males with sight disability (45.0%) leading the chart and the least being intellectual disability (0.5%).

Population with disability

Table 6.1 shows the population with the various forms of disability in the District. From the Table only 3.2 percent of the population in the District has one form of disability or the other with the proportion (3.1%) of females with disability higher than males (2.9%).

The distribution of persons with disability (PWDs) in the District shows that sight disability (44.2%) is the most common form of disability among the disabled persons in the District. This is followed by Physical (mobility) (26.2%) and speech (19.8%), hearing disability (19.6%).

In relation to sex, among the male disabled persons physical disability accounts for 24.6 percent and 27.8 percent among females with the same disability.

Data in Table 6.1 further shows that, a higher proportion of persons with disability live in rural areas (3.6%) compared to (2.4%) their counterparts in urban areas. Sight disability is common in the urban areas (37.6%) than the rural areas (46.7%). The proportion of persons suffering from speech disability (20.3%) in rural areas is higher than those with the same type of disability in the urban areas (18.6%).

Disability and activity

According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, activity status refers to the economic and non-economic activity of persons during the reference period (the seven days proceeding the census night). Also, economically active persons are those who work for pay, profit or family gain, those who did not work but had jobs to return to and unemployed persons. The economically not active are persons who did not work and were not seeking for work. These include homemakers, students, retired persons, disabled and are unable to work and those with ill-health or too old to work.

Table 6.2 shows persons 15 years and older with disability by economic activity status and sex. Out of the 1,703 people with disability, about 1,348 constituting 79.2 percent are 15 years and older. Out of the 79.2 percent of the disabled population who are within the economically active age group, 61.4 percent are employed, a little above two percent (2.2%) are unemployed and 36.4 are economically not active.

It can be observed that, among the types of disability within the economic activity status, in general, each type of disability has more than half of its population employed, less than half being economically not active and less than five percent being unemployed. It is observed from the Table that 61.1 percent of the persons with sight disability are employed, economically not active constitute 37.0 percent and less than two percent (1.4%) are unemployed. Again, 63.4 percent of persons with speech disability employed, unemployed represent five percent and 29.4 percent are economically not active. On the other hand, persons with intellectual disability have as high as 45.3 percent of its population being economically not active while 53.8 percent are employed.

Among the male population with disability, 65.9 percent are employed, 32.2 percent are economically not active and about two percent (1.9%) of them being unemployed. On the other hand, 57.3 percent of the females with disability are employed while 40.2 percent are economically not active group and the unemployed constitute more than two percent (2.6%). It is observed among the female disability that physical disability has the same proportion of employed and economically not active (49.7%) persons and less than one percent (0.5%) is unemployed.

Disability, Education and Literacy

Educational status is generally low with people with disability. Table 6.3 indicates the population 3 years and older with disability type and level of education. Data on disability, education and literacy would inform policy formulation towards skills development for people with disability and that would go a long to improve their lives.

Disability and Education

Table 6.3 and appendix Table 2 present population of 3 years and older by disability type, sex and education level attained. In general the population of disabled persons reduces as the level of education increases. It is observed from the |Table that most persons with disability are denied pre-school as only a fraction over three (9.1%). Again, about 22.7 percent have never attended school. Also, it is observed that for the disabled who has never been to school, hearing recorded the highest with 42.0 percent followed by physical with 38.1 percent. However, for the disabled who have attained basic education (Middle /JSS/ JHS), about 59.5 percent of them have emotional disability followed by intellectual disability (57.0 %). Again, (7.2%) of the persons with disability have attained tertiary education. More than seven percent of those with sight disability have attained post graduate degree.

On the sex distribution of disability, it is recorded that, among the disabled females 50.3 percent of the people with hearing disability have never attended school compared to only 32.7 percent of their male counterparts. Emotional disability constitutes the majority of both male and female persons with disability and has completed basic education. Again, appendix 2 shows that more than half of the male population 3 years and older have ever attended JSS/JHS and middle schools while close to only ten percent (9.8%) attended SSS/SHS and secondary schools. The situation for females is not different as JSS/JHS and middle schools recorded 42.3 percent compared to about five percent (4.8%) at SSS/SHS and secondary schools. With the tertiary education, two males with sight and physical disabilities have attained bachelor and post graduate degrees while one female with sight disability has post graduate degree in the District.