•A sign language interpreter plays a crucial role in the life of a deaf person.
•In Kenya, there are about 500 qualified sign language interpreters serving the needs of over 260,000 people with hearing impairments.
People with hearing impairments can now breathe with a sigh of relief after a new mobile application that will aid in their communication was launched on Wednesday.
Speaking during the launch of the app at Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, ICT Chief Administrative Secretary Maureen Mbaka said the new app will enable the deaf to take an active role in socio-economic development in the country.
"The government is fully committed to providing equal treatment to people with disabilities with respect to the use and benefit of ICT services, programmes, goods and facilities in a manner that respects their dignity and equitable relations to the broader public," she said.
During the event, Chairman of the board of Signs Media Kenya Limited Ham Wesonga, Signs Media MD Luke Muleka, Kenya Sign Language Interpreters Association Chairman Douglas Okeya and Horizon Sign Language Training Center CEO Lawrence Musili were present.
United Disabled Persons of Kenya Vice-Chairperson Habel Ouma, Caroline Kiarie from UNDP, and British Deputy High Commissioner Julius Court were present.
The CAS said the government has been steadfast in ensuring inclusivity in every area of life and in ensuring that level playing fields are created in every possible sector of the economy including the ICT.
Mbaka said the national ICT policy 2020 recognizes accessibility as a policy focus area and that the government will provide an ICT environment fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
Kenya is a signatory to the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006.
The convention stipulates that persons with disabilities have a right to access information through different mediums.
Mbaka said the digital economy blueprint also recognizes accessibility for people with disabilities as a cross-cutting issue
Digital services should be accessible to persons with disabilities, she said.
Mbaka said persons living with disability will have access to government procurement opportunities where women youth and persons with disabilities are allocated 30 per cent of all government tenders.
She said the new app will ensure that there is a communication platform between supplies and various agencies.
Mbaka said the communication challenges experienced by health service providers which was a major contribution to the development of the new app will be reduced.
"From now henceforth, doctors or nurses who do not understand sign language can diagnose illness and administer medication to people with hearing loss via the app.
Mbaka said the new app will also help persons with hearing impairment to vote.
The court said the app will ensure that there is inclusivity, and innovation and have an impact on lives.
A sign language interpreter plays a crucial role in the life of a deaf person.
In Kenya, there are about 500 qualified sign language interpreters serving the needs of over 260,000 people with hearing impairments.
Interpreters are mainly located in urban areas and the high cost of the services makes them unattainable for low income and rural populations.
Due to this disparity, most people with hearing impairments are often unable to access essential services without the help of relatives or friends to communicate on their behalf.
However, a new app dubbed assistALL will now come in handy in helping them.
The app is a Sign Language Interpretation mobile app available on android devices to facilitate the communication of deaf persons and anyone who might want to bridge any communication barriers.
The app is fully operational and can be downloaded from the Google play store and works on a per-minute billing platform.
It operates on an affordable per-minute billing platform charging Sh 30 through its qualified sign language interpreters who are professionals cross-cutting all sectors of the society.
The app is currently on the Google play store and offers on-demand sign language interpretation services 24 hours a day.
To access the services, one replenishes their assistALL wallet via the various payments platforms including Mpesa, Visa and Paypal.
In 2020, through the support of the UNDP-K disability innovation challenge, assistALL app was among the five innovations chosen and supported from ideation to become a minimum viable product.
Post Covid-19, the application would be found useful in higher education, general health care, employment, travelling, judicial system and social settings for the deaf and as a means of creating employment opportunities for the interpreters.
In an effort to secure more funding to develop the app, innovators applied for funds from GSMA where Signs Media through its innovation assistALL was the only African owned and operated start-up.
It was awarded a grant by the GSMA innovation fund for assistive technologies in 2021.
The new app now seeks to eliminate logistics of travel by the interpreters and other expenses making it more affordable to end-user.
A sign language interpreter is also able to serve more deaf people which bridges the gap between the demand and supply for quality sign language interpretation.