Accessible Public Health Information Is Still Lacking Despite COVID-19 Outbreak in Indonesia
Indonesia still has a long way to go in achieving an inclusive society, and it is apparent in the time of crisis. Despite carrying the biggest responsibility, the Indonesian government started late in making sure that the information regarding COVID-19 is accessible to the one of the most marginalised community in Indonesia.
Just last week, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HOH) Community sent a letter of protest to President Joko Widodo due to the fact that government has yet to provide accessible information for the Deaf and HOH, such as providing sign language interpreters in their address/press conference regarding COVID-19. The initial response of one the Special Staff to the President, who is also a Deaf person herself, was lukewarm, as she shared in Instagram that in the meantime, people with disability can refer to the “trustworthy online news portal” for information regarding coronavirus. After it caused quite a stir in social media, the government finally started to provide sign language interpreters, as can be observed in the regular news updates on TV regarding COVID-19 by the government’s spoke person. However, questions still remain, what about those with other types of disability?
People with disabilities (PWD) is one of the groups with heightened risk of contracting COVID-19. They are most likely to experience barriers in implementing recommended basic hygiene measures such as frequent hand washing. Some groups might not be able to implement social distancing since they always have to be in close contacts with people who support them in day-to-day activities. That is of course, under the assumption that they can access the information regarding basic measures to protect themselves from COVID-19 in the first place. We also have not discussed on what could possibly happen if a person with disability contracted COVID-19. Would they be able to access COVID-19 test and receive the treatment they need that takes their disability into account? Would the government cover the cost of the treatment? Again, there are still a lot of questions.
So far, only the government of DKI Jakarta made visible effort in ensuring the information regarding COVID-19 is accessible to everyone through their website. The infographics and documents are available in both .jpeg and .pdf, which could be read by screen readers. WhatsApp contact is also available for those who are not able to access the hotlines. The governor has started earlier than other officials in providing sign language interpreters on TV appearances. Yet people with disability are not only living in Jakarta. Those who are living outside the capital also have the same rights to be provided accessible information.
To fill the gaps, there are a lot of things that we can do as a non-disability, especially if we have the privilege of accessing all the information that we need regarding COVID-19. For example, by reposting infographics and putting the texts on the image in the captions, or adding close captioning (CC) in the videos. If you know any person with disability that might need the information, please do share it to them but do not forget to make sure that the information is credible. Right now, organisations involved with disability issues and inclusive development such as Kerjabilitas has been utilising the social media to produce and share accessible information regarding COVID-19. If you need any inspiration on how to provide accessible information, do check out our Instagram @kerjabilitasid.
