Caribbean Video Assistance Service to assist people with disabilities

The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), is working with VTCSecure, a global organisation, to introduce the Caribbean Video Assistance Service (CVAS) for the deaf and blind, first to Trinidad and Tobago, and then to other Caribbean countries.

A CVAS pilot, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, was launched on 4 May 2020. It will enable those who are deaf or hard of hearing, and who use sign language, to communicate with persons who can hear via a sign language interpreter (agent), and in the case of blind persons, to receive assistance from agents when they need the help of someone who can see.

COVID-19 has caused mobility and financial disruptions for everyone, something many people with disabilities experience every day.

Technology such as CVAS, makes it possible to provide solutions for mobility challenges and other difficulties that people with disabilities face.