Accessibility for ICT products and services for Persons with disabilities, Standard launched in Kenya

In Kenya, a new standard on Accessibility for ICT products and services for Persons with Disabilities, Standard (2952-1:2022), was launched during the Inclusive Africa Conference, making Kenya the first African country to develop such a standard. The standard aims to ensure that digital products and services are accessible to persons with disabilities, older individuals, and others, promoting inclusivity in society. Various stakeholders collaborated to create clear standards for enhancing access to these services. This development emphasizes the importance of digital accessibility compliance for public and private organizations to cater to all individuals effectively.

The first ever standard on Accessibility for ICT products and services for persons with disabilities in 

Africa was launched by Kenya Bureau Standards(KEBS) in partnership with inALBE during the 

Inclusive Africa Conference.

The new Standard (KS 2952-1:2022), was gazetted on May 13, 2022.

Ms. Margaret Kobia Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and

 Special Programmes while addressing the participants, said ‘ I am pleased to note that today we

 witness yet another milestone in our country’s quest for disability inclusion. This is the launch of the

 Kenya Standard (KS ISO 2952) on Accessibility for ICT Products and Services for persons with

 disabilities. This makes Kenya the first country  in Africa to develop a digital accessibility standard for

 persons living with disabilities with the standard  providing a framework for gauging and ensuring

 public ICT products and services are sensitive to the  needs of persons with disabilities’.

Lt Col (Rtd.) Bernard Njiraini KEBS Managing Director , said , ‘To  accommodate all people in the

 society, inclusive design and universal design principles should be  integrated into digital products and

 service , KEBS congratulates all of the industry partners and stakeholders who worked efficiently and

  collaboratively to  develop clear standards to inform the  implementation framework on the inclusion of  persons with disabilities,  including enhanced access to  ICTs, products and services’,

Ms. Irene Mbari-Kirika, Executive Director, inABLE said ‘the Standards for Accessibility- ICT Products

 and Services is a game changer for public and private organizations who must now prioritize digital 

accessibility compliance to ensure that everyone, especially PWDs, can access their websites, mobile

 applications, and other  digital resources’.

This standard is set to ensure that Public and Private sector digital products and services are 

accessible to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), older persons largely disconnected from most

 e-government services, and  business owned digital platforms.