Paraguay launches an accessible communication service to inform about COVID-19

The government of Paraguay has launched an accessible communication service to ensure that persons with disabilities can receive comprehensive information about COVID-19. The quick implementation of this service has been possible thanks to the contribution of Bridging the Gap in the country.

Two actions of the project have been essential in this sense. On the one hand, the strengthening of the Relay Center carried out in 2018 to avoid the closure of this telephonic communication service that allows deaf persons to be in contact with hearing persons or with the entities or services they may require. On the other hand, the purchase of equipment and editing software for the Communication Department of the National Secretariat for the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SENADIS) carried out in 2019.

Thanks to these contributions and within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the SENADIS and the Technical Secretariat for Planning (STP) for the adaptation of information to accessible formats, Paraguayan citizens with disabilities can receive accessible and updated information on this disease daily.

Thus, daily summaries are being produced in accessible videos to reach all persons with disabilities. These include sign language for deaf persons, captioning for persons with low hearing, audio for persons with visual disabilities and simplified language for persons with intellectual disabilities.

The video capsules, disseminated through the SENADIS Facebook page, inform not only about how to prevent COVID-19, how to act in case of contagion or the advance of the disease in the country, but also about all the measures carried out by the government in this emergency situation.