The International Disability Alliance and the International Disability and Development Consortium have launched an Accessibility campaign to call for public health information and communications around COVID19 to be fully accessible.

The Issue
Persons with disabilities are unable to access vital information about COVID-19 on equal basis with others. Daily briefings by World health Organization, and the United Nations (such as those delivered by the Secretary-General) are not accessible. International Sign interpretation, closed captioning, written or audio description of graphs and videos, and documentation in plain language (easy-to-read) are not included in the daily briefings by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations. 

The Aim
To make the WHO and United Nations daily briefings and any supporting documents on COVID-19 fully accessible to persons with disabilities. We want them to set an example and show leadership to national governments and other actors in providing a fully accessible COVID-19 response by making all information that they disseminate fully accessible to persons with disabilities, keeping in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, General Comment No. 7 and the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy.

Key campaign asks

  • Ensure public health information and communication around COVID -19 is fully accessible.
  • We want the United Nations daily briefings, and any supporting documents on COVID-19, to be fully accessible to persons with disabilities. All UN agencies should publish and share their information on COVID19 in accessible formats, including in which shared materials are accessible online for persons using screen reader software, and presentation materials accessible using universal design elemental and additional formats, such as the use of sign languages, Easy Read, plain language, captioned media, Braille, augmentative and alternative communication, and other accessible means.
  • We want national and local governments to follow the advice as laid out in the WHO COVID-19 Disability Briefing.
  • We call on all COVID-19 responders (including the UN, WHO and national governments) to work with representative organisations of persons with disabilities to distribute fully accessible public health information. 

Advocacy Materials

Social Media Materials

(if you need these materials in editable formats, please write to tavades@ida-secretariat.org with the specific item you’re looking for)

English

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