Making the Digital Ecosystem Disabled Friendly

Making the Digital Ecosystem Disabled Friendly: The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy published research on software application popularity in India.

The 2011 Census estimate of 2.21% of India’s population being disabled is a severe underestimation.
The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 16% of the global population is impaired.
If the figure is expanded to India, it equates to at least 192 million impaired persons.
The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy is a legal research think tank.
The group just published research on software application popularity in India.
In addition, the report’s title is “Making the Digital Ecosystem Disabled Friendly“.
According to the group, WhatsApp is the most accessible app for impaired people.
The organisation evaluated applications in categories such as e-commerce, online payments, transport, food delivery, etc.
Furthermore, the report was generated based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

A report was developed for an evidence-based assessment of the state of technology and its accessibility for the impaired segment.
The study looked at ten popular apps from five different industries.
- Zomato, Swiggy, Paytm, PhonePe, Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, Ola, WhatsApp, and Telegram are among these apps.
Furthermore, the app was evaluated using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are a collection of universally recognised characteristics used to verify whether an app or website is accessible to people with disabilities.
In addition, it was observed that four apps were classified as “low” in accessibility, and five apps were ranked as “medium”.
The findings underscore the urgent need to develop a physically and digitally accessible infrastructure for the disabled.
The purpose of releasing this study and rating index is to stimulate conversations about digital accessibility, product design, and development.
It will also aid in shifting views towards disability, particularly among the business world, as they shift away from a charity-based strategy and towards a rights-based and investment outlook.

Medical Model
- Individuals with particular physical, intellectual, psychological, and mental deficits are considered disabled in the medical model.
- According to this, the individual is disabled because it is associated with limitations in activity.
- In addition, the weight of changing the environment through remedies, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Social Model
- The social model focuses on a society that places unfair limits on the behaviour of people with disabilities.
- Furthermore, in this case, impairment is caused by the interplay between individuals and society.

Health
- Many disabilities are avoidable, including those caused by medical disorders during birth, maternal circumstances, malnutrition, and accidents and traumas.
- However, there is a shortage of awareness, care, and sound, readily available medical facilities.
Education and Employment
- Lack of special schools, school access, skilled teachers, and educational materials for the impaired.
- Even though many disabled adults are capable of productive labour, they have substantially lower employment rates than the general population.
Discrimination
- Continuous discrimination is based on the stigma linked to people with disabilities.
- Furthermore, a lack of understanding of their rights makes it impossible for them to achieve their valued “functioning”.
- Women and girls with disabilities are more likely to be victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

Preventive health initiatives must be expanded, and all children must be screened early.
Additionally, Kerala has already begun an early-warning programme.
The Comprehensive Newborn Screening (CNS) programme aims to identify problems in infants early and lower the state’s disability burden.
Governments, non-profit organisations, and professional groups should consider launching social campaigns to improve attitudes towards stigmatised issues related to people with disabilities.

Pic Courtesy: The Hindu

Content Source: The Hindu