Forum: Crucial to give those with disabilities equal access to web services
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There should be guidelines to make the web, and not just digital banking and shopping services, more accessible to the disabled and vision-impaired ( When you can’t see, and your banking app OTP is expiring
Internet access has not always been equitable for disabled people. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more aspects of people’s lives and healthcare have transitioned online. Making doctor’s appointments, refilling prescriptions, and registering for vaccines and boosters now all largely exist virtually.
People with disabilities deserve to have an equal opportunity to access the services, goods and programmes provided by the Government and businesses, including those offered or communicated through websites, so we must make them more accessible. Entities such as hospitals and universities that receive government funding should follow standards that cover telecommunication devices like phones and computers.
It is not that difficult from a design perspective to make things accessible, and it is necessary to give the disability community such access to healthcare. For example, if there is a graph showing how Covid-19 is affecting the community, and there is no alternative text, people using screen readers cannot tell what the graph is saying. Getting vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19 is crucial. We should minimise creating barriers for blind people and others with low vision to register for vaccines.
Guidelines will put pressure on making websites and tele-health platforms accessible, the basic rule being that designing something to be accessible improves the experience for everybody.
Robert Cheng Shoong Hock
