Africa

JAMAICA: A survival guide produced in Braille for persons who are blind or living with vision impairment was unveiled at a handover ceremony recently as part of an effort to ensure that they are not left behind when disaster strikes. The ceremony at the Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually Impaired marks the beginning… Continue Reading »

Startups with solutions addressing barriers to digital inclusion faced by people with disabilities have been invited to apply for up to US$325,000 in grant funding from the latest GSMA Innovation Fund. The GSMA Innovation Fund for Assistive Tech, supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, is looking for startups, small and medium enterprises… Continue Reading »

inABLE.org is set to host the first ever virtual Inclusive Africa Conference 2020 on October 8 – 9, from 9 – 11:30 am EAT. Sponsored by MasterCard Foundation, Safaricom, Facebook, Ford Foundation and Google, the theme of the conference is promoting digital accessibility in Africa.  At least 500 attendees from across Africa are anticipated to join in… Continue Reading »

NIGERIA: The National Human Rights Commission NHRC has expressed its readiness to partner with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in the establishment of a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities. Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu who stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister,… Continue Reading »

NAMIBIA: Imagine every day and every activity being a challenge or simply not being able to take part in everyday life. People with disabilities face this prospect daily, simply because buildings and infrastructure have not been made with them in mind. Leaving buildings, offices, schools, shops and infrastructure inaccessible to them because of lack of wheelchair… Continue Reading »

As of Wednesday, 52 people are confirmed to have coronavirus in Uganda, with no death related to COVID-19 registered. Globally, nearly 1.5 million people have been affected, with the death toll exceeding 80,000. Uganda has ramped up its fight against the deadly virus, with a national taskforce led by Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda in… Continue Reading »

SOUTH AFRICA: The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has brought forward the payment of social grants for the elderly and persons with disabilities for the month of April in an effort to lower the risk of Covid-19 infection by reducing congestion at retailers and banks. In a statement, Sassa said it had been inundated with… Continue Reading »

NIGERIA: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has tasked member states on specific budgetary provisions to promote education accessibility and inclusiveness of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, returnees and stateless persons. Mr Emmanuel Okorodudu, Head of Division, Democracy and Good Governance, Department of Political Affairs and Regional Security… Continue Reading »

United Nations arm in charge of global telecommunication development, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has charged member countries on inclusive information and communications technology (ICT) growth. Specifically, ITU said members, including developing countries such as Nigeria, should focus attention on the role of emerging technologies in promoting ICT accessibility. The body, which was founded May… Continue Reading »

ZIMBABWE: Marking the International Day of Persons with Disability, CBM launches a new Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (iDRR) application (www.cbm.org/i-drr) and releases a new version of its Humanitarian Hands-On Tool (HHoT). The CBM Humanitarian Hands-On Tool (HHoT) (www.cbm.org/hhot), providing step-by-step practical guidance on inclusive humanitarian field work, first went live at the end of 2017. Since then,… Continue Reading »