For the population with disabilities and the elderly, the lack of assistive resources on websites creates navigation barriers that hinder prevention and prevent the reading of fundamental information about the pandemic
The recommendation is stay home and maintain constant hygiene. To use public services, go shopping, follow the news, and stay well-informed about the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, the internet is a fundamental tool.
Despite the amount of daily information about the worldwide effort to contain the disease, there is a portion of the public that cannot keep up with the updates on their own. The reason is the absence of digital accessibility features on the websites.
In Brazil, according to the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), 57% of citizens with disabilities frequently use the internet. Data from the World Wide Web Consortium Brazil Office (W3C Brazil) show that our country has approximately 14 million websites, but only 100,000 of them have some form of accessibility.
This represents 0.7% of pages that can be accessed by people with disabilities, particularly those with severe disabilities, as well as individuals with little experience using technology—a group that includes many older adults who live alone.
Worldwide, there are 1.8 billion web pages. In 2018, the number of people who accessed the internet daily reached 3.5 billion, more than half of the planet's population.
In the current situation, with the lockdown imposed by authorities in various countries to prevent the coronavirus from spreading and causing a greater collapse in healthcare systems and the economy, the daily number of internet users has probably increased significantly.
According to eSSENTIAL Accessibility, a company specializing in digital accessibility consulting and services, people with disabilities generate approximately US$$ 4 trillion annually worldwide. In Brazil, this figure reaches R$ 22 billion.
In our country alone, the assistive technology sector generated revenue of R$ 5.5 billion in 2017, according to data from the Cipa Fiera Milano Group, which organizes REATECH (International Fair for Rehabilitation, Inclusion, and Accessibility Technologies).
Considering the number of people with disabilities (PWDs) and also people with dyslexia, color blindness, and the elderly, the amount of internet users who need accessibility can reach 30.2 million, according to IBGE data (Continuous PNAD 2018).
Where to find digital accessibility
Detailed explanations about digital accessibility and its importance for socioeconomic inclusion are available, one example being the movement Web For All External site, conceived in 2017 by entrepreneur Simone Freire in partnership with W3C Brasil, which works to mobilize, educate, and transform society regarding web accessibility.
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