Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi (Fedoma) has bemoaned the non-inclusion of people with disabilities in the coronavirus messages being disseminated by government and different organizations.

This has been revealed by Fedoma’s head of programmes, Symon Munde, who said his organization is concerned that people with disabilities such as deaf, dumb and visual impairment are failing to access necessary information on how they can prevent and take part in the fight against the deadly virus.

According to Munde, since the genesis of the outbreak, this is the second time for the organization to make a complaint but there is little that the authorities are doing to address the matter.

Munde said: “We are not satisfied because most of these message are not provided in audible format a situation which translates that we are being denied access to health related services.”

He said people who have such challenges are at high risk of contracting the virus hence the need for proper information to trickle down to them.

He therefore suggested that government and concerned organizations must translate the coronavirus messages into braille and sign languages in order to reach those with different disabilities.

Currently, government has intensified in disseminating information on preventive measures for coronavirus through radios, Public Address systems and flyers but in most cases they leave out people with hearing and visual challenges.