Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD)
The problem
In Southern Africa, an estimated 85–95% of people with disabilities who need assistive technology (AT) do not have access to it. AT-Info-Map was designed to close that information gap — connecting persons with disabilities to AT already available near their community, helping public providers and DPOs identify unmet AT needs, and informing suppliers and manufacturers of demand.
The solution
Funded by the Google Impact Challenge, AT-Info-Map was a 3-year project (2016–2019) that mapped the availability of assistive technology across ten Southern African countries as follows:
Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
What my team and I did
Mobile App Development
A mobile application that lets rehabilitation officers, social workers, and DPOs locate AT suppliers and service providers, and lets users submit new listings from the field. Available on Google Play
Web Database Development
An online database mirroring the mobile app, giving the public browser and map/GPS access to the same supplier and service-provider listings.
National AT Awareness Seminars
Country-level seminars held with DPOs to build AT awareness among suppliers, policymakers, academia, community rehabilitation staff, and hospitals.
AT Guide & Research
A published AT Guide describing device types and categories, plus a research summary of the policy, cost, and access challenges facing AT uptake in the region.
