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Blind People in Sierra Leone; 'Affordable' Braille; Accessible Pedestrian Signals

Peter White reports on blind people in Sierra Leone who are at increased risk of contracting Ebola; the race to make cheaper electronic Braille; and accessible pedestrian signals.

Peter White talks about the increased risk blind people face in contracting the Ebola virus with the director of Vision for the Blind - an organisation for visually impaired people in Sierra Leone. To prevent infection the advice is to avoid bodily contact, but this makes life difficult when you rely on touch for communication and assistance. And the 'no touching' advice means that sighted people are reluctant to offer help for fear of spreading infection.

We also look at concerted attempts to develop far cheaper equipment to enable people to read electronically generated Braille. Technical problems mean that much of the equipment on the market is far too expensive to buy unless you have government or charitable assistance, and is largely unaffordable in poorer countries. We feature in particular piece of equipment being developed by an American consortium which could eventually sell for hundreds, rather than thousands.

And have you detected a decline in the numbers of crossings with audible or tactile signals to tell blind and partially sighted people when it's safe to cross the road? In Touch wants to hear listeners experiences, and what explanations they've been given if they have complained.

Producer: Lee Kumutat.

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20 minutes

Broadcast

  • Tue 21 Oct 2014 20:40

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