Cellphone revolution yet to fully benefit disabled

By DOREEN NAWA

CELL phones have revolutionised life for most people, but for the blind, finding a cell phone that they can use is nearly impossible. For example, features such as keys that can be identified by touch, displays that can be read by the blind persons and phones with speech output for people who cannot read the phone's display are not widely available. And the list seems endless and Jony Phiri has this to say, "The world is cruel; most of the assistive technologies address only certain sorts of disability and not the blind. The development of information communication and technology (ITC) has neglected the visually-impaired population in Zambia." According to Mr Phiri, a visually impaired primary school trainee teacher, this situation has made them (blind) feel side-lined and left out even in the advent of mobile phones and the use of SMS following the mobile service providers failure to provide certain information in Braille. "I do not know how many times we will bring this to the attention of these subscribers, I am on Airtel and whenever there is a promotion or any information, it does not come in Braille. There is one specific promotion of concern to me,' send money', where I will be given a pin number to enter but because of my condition, I have to give someone to help me and there is no privacy there and my consumer rights are being violated," Mr Phiri said. A mobile phone is totally pointless if you cannot make or receive calls, and send or receive text messages. It is all well and good being privy to your gadget's output, but if one cannot communicate with the device, then it will be a frustrating and a one-sided relationship with the gadget. Issues of privacy are always paramount but for the visually impaired, they are never considered, theirs is a different story. Totally blind phone purchasers, consider whether the buttons are well defined, evenly spaced, and arranged in a sensible way so that you can hit the one you want without thinking about it. According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted on 13 December 2006, all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Convention is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorisation of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Convention, to which Zambia is a party, was ratified in Zambia in 2010 and has now been domesticated simultaneously with the Persons with Disability Act number 6 of 2012 which provides for equal accessibility of services including telecommunications services. "The Persons with Disability Act number 6 of 2012 requires cell phones and phone services to be designed to be accessible for people with disabilities. This Act also provides for our privacy as people with disabilities," says Zambia Disability HIV and AIDS human rights director Elijah Ngwale. Mr Ngwale is a lifelong civil servant and advocate for persons with disabilities. He lost his sight in his early childhood due to cataracts and feels a lot needs to be done to protect the privacy of persons with disabilities. "Mobile service providers and manufacturers should find ways to make information and phones disability friendly. They should also carryout sensitisation workshops for both the blind and their customer care workers and see how they can incorporate the blind in their promotions and services," says Mr Ngwale. According to Mr Ngwale, learning from existing technologies in western countries which are accessible things like text-to-speech and screen magnification is provided by some of the manufacturers of smart phone like iPhone out-of-the-box, without the need for any additional software can be the best way to start.

However, far too many cell phone manufacturers and carriers are not taking seriously their accessibility obligation. Integrate accessibility features into digital telecommunications equipment is paramount for everyone's access regardless of their physical state. To ensure that telecommunication services and devices are accessible to blind Zambians, a positive step towards achieving accessibility has to be taken, says the Zambia Information Communication and Technology Authority (ZICTA). "Access to telecommunications devices and information is critical in today's world. Digital TV, cell phones, and Internet web sites have all become part of the mainstream society, and serve as one of the primary means by which we get information about the world around us," says ZICTA head of information and consumer protection Katwamba Mwansa. Cable TV providers now require the use of digital set-top boxes, the menus, programme guide, and settings all of which are entirely inaccessible to a person who is blind. "As the regulator, we are in consultation with various mobile service providers and other telecommunication service providers to see the way forward in addressing this challenge," says Mwansa. With the advent and proliferation of these digital technologies, accessibility has suffered. Cell phones are notorious for having minute buttons and small on-screen print, rendering them increasingly difficult to use for those who are blind.