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Examples are outlined of how good practices in the provision of accessible learning materials are being put into practice by USAID in partnership with organisations addressing the education needs of students with disabilities:

• Expanding access through Universal Design for Learning in Cambodia: All Children Reading
• Applying a user-centered design approach in Kenya: eKitabu and Deaf-led Sign Language Video Stories
• Promoting sustainable accessible standards in Rwanda: Soma Umenye
• Supporting underserved languages in accessible formats: The Global Digital Library
• Fostering parental involvement in Tajikistan: USAID Read with Me

Background: In spite of legislations and policies to ensure an inclusive society in South Africa for the accommodation of people with disabilities, there are reports that they still struggle to move freely within society.

Objectives: As part of a larger qualitative exploratory study on the preparation of undergraduate civil engineering students in a local university to contribute to the development of an inclusive society, this article seeks to understand the impact of the lived experiences of people with disabilities in their interaction with the built environment.

Method: Four persons with disabilities, considered to be knowledgeable about South African legislations relating to disability, were purposely selected to each share one specific experience whilst interacting with the built environment. The transcribed texts of the interviews were analysed by using the phenomenological–hermeneutic method.

Results: The participants exhibited strong desires to participate in society. However, the sense of loss of control and independence as they encountered challenges in the built environment changed the euphoria to disempowerment, rejection, anger and despondency. In spite of their experiences, participants expressed a commitment towards overcoming the challenges encountered in the broader interest of people with disabilities.

Conclusion: A deeper understanding of the impact of the experiences of people with disabilities when they participate within the built environment in South Africa revealed a broad spectrum of negative emotions, which may impact the quality of life and well-being of the participants.

African Journal of Disability, Vol 9, 2020

The purpose of this document is for United Nations staff and partners to make their video conferences as inclusive as possible for all persons with disabilities. The Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities gathered the following information from representative organizations of persons with disabilities, in particular from the International Disability Alliance and its members, and from additional research. This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather attempts to provide an accessibility overview. 

Hearing loss is the fourth highest cause of disability globally, with an estimated annual cost of over 750 billion dollars. These facts are well known and have contributed to growing global consciousness on the need for accessible hearing care in all regions of the world. Looking forward however, the demand for hearing care is likely to grow significantly in coming decades. This report highlights the potential escalation of hearing loss to the middle of the century, and focusses on the factors responsible for hearing loss and the means to address them. 

WHO estimates in 2008 found that 360 million people worldwide live with disabling hearing loss, including 32 million children and 180 million older adults. The most recent estimations place this figure at over 466 million people with disabling hearing loss in 2018. The main areas of the world affected by disabling hearing loss are the South Asian, Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan African regions, with a prevalence rate almost four times that of the high income regions.

Measures to address these concerns deal with: prevention of infections in mothers and babies; chronic ear infections; noise exposure; and ototoxic hearing loss.

Public health aspects are highlighted. 

This guide provides strategies and recommendations for developing inclusive classrooms and schools. We specifically address the needs of Sub-Saharan African countries, which lack the resources for implementing inclusive education. However, our strategies and recommendations can be equally useful in other contexts where inclusive education practices have not yet been adopted. Strategies for enhancing existing school and classroom environment and instruction include: modify the physical environment; modify classroom managment strategies; ensure social inclusion; adopt best instructional practices; apply strategies for students with sensory disabilities; and use assistive technologies. Strategies for adopting response to intervention include: tier by tier implementation; individualised education plans; and planning for school wide adoption of inclusive practices and a multilevel system of support.

Three adaptive apps for mobile phones are briefly introduced. RogerVoice helps the hard of hearing to make phone calls by automatically transcribing speech. The dyslexia key can make the font easier to read and also can enable a sequential keyboard. Be My Eyes enables users to request help from volunteer readers by phone using videolinks

With growing recognition that persons with sensory (blindness and deafness), physical, and intellectual disabilities are at risk for HIV, it is crucial to understand the HIV programming needs of persons with disabilities and challenges to accessing HIV-related services. The HIVCore project, funded by the U. S. Agency for International Development, conducted a situation analysis in Ghana, Uganda, and Zambia with persons with disabilities and service providers to describe existing HIV services for persons with disabilities, identify factors affecting access to and use of HIV services, and identify opportunities and gaps for addressing HIV service needs of persons with disabilities. By identifying the needs and challenges in HIV programming for persons with disabilities and by identifying existing programs, the findings from this assessment can be used to guide the implementation of disability-inclusive programming.

This article highlights the experiences of disabled young people enrolled into Rwandan public universities. This resource is useful to anyone interested in inclusive higher education in Rwanda
EENET Newsletter 12