UN donates 1,000 copies of printed braille

By ABELA MSIKULA

THE United Nations (UN) yesterday offered 1,000 copies of the Global Goals factsheet, printed in braille as efforts to reach persons with impaired vision.

Handing-over the copies to Social and Economic Empowerment of the Disadvantaged (Seed Trust) Organisation, UN Resident Coordinator, Mr Alvaro Rodrigues said there are approximately 39 million people with vision impairment in the world today; and about 5.8 million in Africa.
The donation to ‘Seed Trust’ is the United Nation’s latest efforts to leave no one behind in the implementation of the Global Goals, according to the UN Resident Coordinator. “Whether it is social media or distributing printed material, much of the awareness-raising that we have done on the global goals involves reading. Donating these braille factsheetss is the first step to ensure that persons with impaired vision can contribute to achieve the goals because it will enable them to understand the goals,” he said.
Seed Trust Executive Director, Ms Magreth Mkanga reminded that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global agenda which is expected to run until 2030. They (goals) are more than just a mere agenda.
Its targets and indicators provide an opportunity for review at different levels through the implementation timeline, according to her.
“Participation of people with disability is important for this agenda to be achieved. These factsheets we receive today is another step towards the inclusion of people with visual impairment to the global goals,” she commented.