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24Apr

One Year In: Covid-19 Deepening Africa’s Democratic Regression

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By CIPESA Staff Writer |

In September 2020, our research on the State of Internet Freedom in Africa established that the ultimate effect of the measures instituted in fighting Covid-19 was that they had deepened the democracy deficit in several African countries. This was because, increasingly, more states in the region had fallen short of living up to their citizens’ democratic expectations as they implemented measures to fight the pandemic.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was faring badly in its democratic credentials, fighting for bottom position with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Of the 44 African countries included in the Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index for 2019, half were characterised as authoritarian regimes and many of the others were semi-authoritarian.

As anticipated, it has gotten worse. According to the Democracy Index for 2020, the number of authoritarian regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa last year rose from 22 to 24 – more than half of the 44 countries in the region that the index covered. Burkina Faso and Mali were the new entrants to the unsavoury ranks of authoritarian regimes. Many Sub-Saharan African countries are concentrated at the bottom of the index, and the region boasts just one “full democracy” – Mauritius. During 2020, 31 countries in the region were downgraded, eight stagnated, and just five scored better.

“After experiencing two consecutive years of significant setbacks, democracy in Africa appears to be in a perilous state,” notes the index. The region’s overall average score “fell to by far the lowest score for the continent since the index began in 2006.” The fight against Covid-19, muddled and stolen elections, and insecurity (including Jihadist insurgencies in west Africa), all played their part in the democratic regression experienced in the region.

As is shown in the 2020 edition of the State of Internet Freedom in Africa report, a plethora of regressive measures were introduced in fighting the pandemic, and they had starkly undermined democracy, marked by a dwindling respect for rights to expression, information, assembly, and privacy. In many instances, these measures resulted in a lower level of stakeholder engagement in public affairs and a decline in governments’ transparency and accountability.

Deepening the Democracy Deficit: The democratic regression in a number of countries in the region could persist beyond the Covid-19 crisis, unless the measures imposed are reversed and deliberate efforts are taken to promote greater respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.

While the Arab Spring was a turning point on digital rights in the region, Covid-19 could be another profoundly negative watershed moment. The Arab Spring, during which social media aided organising against autocratic regimes, some of which were overthrown, opened the eyes of many African authoritarian regimes to the power of digital technologies, and they went ahead to make laws to prescribe cyber crimes, to enable interception of communications, to control use of online platforms, and they started instituting measures such as website blockages, censorship of short messaging services, and disruption of networks. – State of Internet Freedom in Africa 2020

According to the index, world over the biggest regressions during 2020 occurred in the most authoritarian countries, where regimes took advantage of the global health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic to persecute and crack down on dissenters and political opponents.

Full democracy Flawed democracy Hybrid regime Authoritarian regime
Mauritius Cape Verde Malawi Mali Eswatini
Botswana Madagascar Mauritania Guinea
South Africa Senegal Burkina Faso Togo
Namibia Liberia Angola Cameroon
Ghana Tanzania Gabon Djibouti
Lesotho Kenya Mozambique Guinea-Bissau
Uganda Ethiopia Eritrea
Zambia Niger Burundi
Sierra Leone Zimbabwe Equatorial Guinea
Benin Congo Brazzaville Chad
Gambia Rwanda CAR
Ivory Coast Comoros DRC
Nigeria

The index states that the decline in Africa’s overall democracy score in 2020 was partly driven by coronavirus-related lockdowns, which had a negative bearing on civil liberties, including stripping citizens of their freedom to assemble and travel, and causing severe interruption to livelihoods. There was high-handedness of the police in enforcing curfews, in such countries as Nigeria (where police killed people in enforcing the lockdown), Kenya and Senegal.

Africa’s deterioration was also precipitated by declining scores for many countries in the category of electoral process and pluralism, with disputed elections in Tanzania and Guinea cited as examples. Of note, Malawi’s standing improved on account of a smooth election held during the year, in which the incumbent president was defeated by an opposition candidate.

Yet some countries saw Covid-19 as an opportunity to stifle opposition campaigns during election times. The index states: “Constraints placed on political activity – applied disproportionately for the opposition – ahead of January 2021 elections in Uganda illustrated how autocrats use the excuse of new threats such as coronavirus to crack down on the opposition and hold on to power during a time of crisis.”

Covid-19 control measures have chipped away at many of hallmarks of a democratic society, such as the ability by citizens to participate in civic matters and the conduct of public affairs. In the countries where civil liberties have been eroded the most, growing hostility of governments to dissenting opinions, including on their handling of Covid-19, has contributed to the adoption of stringent measures and the enactment and enforcement of repressive laws on surveillance, fake news and criminal defamation and practices such as legal threats, intimidation, arrests, detentions, prosecutions, and state surveillance.

These measures have, in turn, forced human rights defenders, journalists, activists, the political opposition, and ordinary citizens to self-censor, disengage from participating in public affairs, and refrain from exercising their rights to participate online and offline. This has been the case in countries such as Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Egypt, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Morocco, Kenya, and Algeria. Yet, in the absence of engaged citizens, the respect for human rights, including the rule of law, suffers. Such a trend, if left unchecked, could persist well beyond the coronavirus crisis.

While Covid-19 could have served as a driver towards improving access and use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Africa, it has potentially widened the digital divide on the continent, yet for the most part the actions of many governments have undermined, rather than promoted, greater access and affordability of digital technologies.

Although technology can play an important role in containing the pandemic, its application should not violate human rights. In most countries, the measures introduced to check the spread of Covid-19 were necessary to address a public health emergency, but some were applied beyond the intended purpose, and need to be revised to imbed human rights principles. As it is, the imposition of unregulated, unchecked and excessive emergency measures by governments in collaboration with non-state actors during the pandemic period raises fundamental questions on their commitment to protecting digital rights. Thus, the debate about the ethics and legality of measures undertaken, and the extent of the associated risks, is imperative in resetting digital rights amidst the Covid-19 fallout.

See more of our work on the impact of Covid-19 in the African digital rights and democracy landscape.

21Apr

Tech to the Rescue Against Covid-19: Reflections from West Africa

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By Afi Edoh |

The role of technology in aiding the Covid-19 fight in Africa is increasingly undisputed. As Covid-19 cases have grown in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo, governments and the private sector have played a decisive role in the three countries’ technology-based response measures, with large scale national efforts to minimise the social-economic impact of the pandemic.

In Ghana, in the wake of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health partnered with the Ministry of Information to leverage websites, USSD short codes, toll free lines, alongside broadcast media to share with the citizenry information on the virus spread and response management measures. The government also rolled out utility (water and electricity) subsidies and reduced from 9% to 5% the communications service tax as part of its relief interventions. Telecommunications operators also supported the fight against Covid-19, with MTN and Vodafone supporting distance learning with zero-rated access to education content for subscribers.

In Togo, in a move to promote cashless transactions, telecommunications operator Moov waived fees on mobile money transactions and payments for utilities. Meanwhile, the Association of Volunteers for the Promotion of Youth (AV-JEUNES) launched a mobile application which provides reliable information on Covid-19, practical advice and awareness videos in French and four additional local languages. Initially intended to provide sexual and reproductive health information to youth, women and vulnerable populations, the platform known as eCentre Convival has supported the fight against misinformation and helped educate pregnant women and young people about the coronavirus. In the telecommunications sector, service providers rolled out reduced price offers and doubled internet speeds.

Meanwhile,  partly to fight the spread of false and misleading information on the virus, Orange Cote d’Ivoire launched a media platform to allow print, online and broadcast media to keep abreast of its Covid-19 response and relief measures. MTN and the Ivorian government partnered to support data-driven decision making in the fight against the virus. Like in Ghana, MTN Cote d’Ivoire waived mobile money transaction fees and subsidised internet services. As part of social-economic relief strategies, the Ivorian government announced a grace period for utility service payments.

 Covid 19- Statistics at April 2021

Country Confirmed case Recovered Deaths Date
Togo 12,610 10,350 121 April 20, 2021
Ghana 91,783 89,661 772 April 16, 2021
Ivory Coast 45,570 45,160 274 April 20, 2021

These examples from the three countries point to a variety of ways in which governments, telecommunications operators and innovators have ensured service continuity, promoted digitalisation and access to reliable information in the face of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Indeed, an opinion assessment through an online survey and interviews conducted by the author among 42 individuals, indicated that online platforms including social media were the primary means through which citizens in the three countries stayed informed during the pandemic. However, whereas there have been efforts to provide content in local languages, English and French remained predominant, excluding illiterate segments of the population.

As stated by one respondent, “the exponential growth of online platforms in the wake of Covid-19 will have a powerful effect on the digital economy, enabling business and the public sector to explore new service offerings, with significant efficiency gains.” The respondent added that with a supportive policy and legislative environment, alongside infrastructure roll out and more local language options, across the three countries, “entire sectors and traditional business models, whether in the field of transport, hospitality or automotive industry will be transformed.”

Afi Edoh is a CIPESA Fellow exploring  digital transformation and the digital economy in Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Togo during the Covid-19 pandemic, to determine value and innovation opportunities as well as challenges.

12Apr

The Data Politics of Pandemics: The Cost of Covid-19 Denialism

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By Bernard Sabiti |

At the onset of the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the prognosis for how Africa would manage the  pandemic was bleak. Many (mostly western-based) epidemiologists anticipated that the pandemic would kill millions of Africans. Researchers at the Imperial College London put the number of estimated deaths at three million as the worst case scenario if nothing was done.

As the pandemic ravaged the western world, however, many of these scientists and analysts were mystified by the comparably fewer deaths in Africa. While many credited Africa’s young population, less travel infrastructure, and a stroke of luck for this success, John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, attributed this early success to African countries taking radical preventative steps very early on.

Having dealt with epidemics such as Ebola in recent years, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa were more prepared and had more supportive infrastructure in place than was apparent to outsiders. The harsh lockdowns, instituted at a terribly high cost to livelihoods of already poor populations, may have inoculated most of the continent from the kind of catastrophe that befell Italy, the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom, Brazil and other countries.

This, however, is not to say that all African countries took the same scientifically sound responses to the pandemic. Some governments took a dismissive approach to the disease. Some outrightly denied its existence. In all instances, there have been significant social-economic and political costs.

A Deadly Infodemic

From presidents to religious, and opinion leaders, through to citizens, a small, but influential group of Covid-19 skeptics harmed an otherwise somewhat successful response to the pandemic on the continent.

Increased spread of false and misleading information about the virus via social media platforms has exacerbated the problem, often across demographics –  the educated and uneducated, young and old, rural and urban. African ‘WhatsApp aunties’ have been the most susceptible to, and purveyors of, Covid-19 misinformation, a phenomenon that compelled the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa Office to directly appeal to them to join the fight against misinformation.

However, when a government, under the tutelage of a powerful president, leads the misinformation campaign, the dynamics become different in scope, and the impact to public health and safety can be more catastrophic. Some governments have weaponised Covid-19 information and data to narrow the democratic space and muzzle political opponents.

For example, the governments of Tanzania and Burundi, led by their outspoken and populist presidents, outrightly denied the existence of the virus, stopped sharing data with WHO, and even harassed WHO officials based in those countries who were tracking the virus. Both presidents have since died – officially from heart-related complications but suspicions abound that they succumbed to the coronavirus disease. Both countries continue to reel from multiple deaths, attributed to ‘acute Pneumonia’, which independent experts say is a euphemism for Covid-19.

A case study of Burundi and Tanzania: one learned its lesson and changed tack, the other stayed the course with devastatingly different outcomes for both of them.

Tanzania

When neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda were frantically scrambling to shut down borders, schools, economies, and enforce mandatory curfew and quarantines, the Tanzanian government did not institute a lockdown and emphatically told its people that their daily routine would remain unchanged. Markets, churches, sports events, bars, and restaurants remained open even after the country confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on March 16, 2020. Two months later in May 2020, authorities stopped updating the WHO with Covid-19 statistic, which at the time stood at 509 cases and 21 deaths.

President John Pombe Magufuli incredulously claimed that the virus was not real, and that he had ordered tests for goats and pawpaws which had all returned positive results. In any case, he said, if the virus was real, God would protect the country. The government made no plans to order for vaccines which Magufuli termed a western plot to exterminate his people. Instead, Magufuli encouraged steaming, using natural remedies, and most importantly he encouraged prayer.

In the meantime, there were an increased number of deaths attributed to pneumonia in Tanzania, with the dead buried under the cover of night, and relatives cowered into silence. With an official policy of not reporting Covid-19 cases, the full scale of the virus’ toll in Tanzania is impossible to tell.

In February 2021, the Catholic Church of Tanzania broke its silence, reporting that up to 25 of its priests and 60 nuns had died of Covid-19, and when the Vice President of semi-autonomous Zanzibar died, the government there admitted Covid-19 was the cause of death and urged citizens to take precautions. Several high-profile individuals, including cabinet ministers, died but the government remained in denial. In one infamous incident, the country’s Finance Minister was taken from Intensive Care and paraded before the media to dispel rumours that he was dead. In coughing fits and clearly weak, surrounded by mask-less officials, he struggled to make a statement.

When President Magufuli disappeared from public view for weeks in mid-February, the country was rife with speculation that he had contracted the virus. The government dismissed the reports as untrue and claimed that the president was “busy working hard” for the country. Opposition leaders claimed that Magufuli had been flown to Kenya on life support due to Covid-19. This was again dismissed by the government. On March 17, 2021, the government announced that the president had died from heart disease.

Burundi

In May 2020, Burundi expelled WHO officials for questioning the wisdom of holding a presidential election amidst the pandemic. At the time, the country had not instituted a lockdown or any other preventative measures. A general election went on with massive rallies. By June 24, 2020 the country had reported 144 cases and one death, amid criticism that the true scale of the pandemic was not being reported. Civil society and health workers were purportedly gagged from talking about the virus.

The shocking death of outgoing president Pierre Nkurunziza in June 2020, however, seems to have caused a change of heart in the new leadership. Officially, Nkurunziza succumbed to a heart attack. However, many analysts alleged Covid-19. His wife had earlier been evacuated to Nairobi, Kenya for treatment, allegedly for the virus.

In July, the incoming government adopted a new Covid-19 response strategy, putting in place measures and restrictions including mandatory Covid-19 negative test results and quarantine at a government designated facility for incoming travellers. Land borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda were closed and the new president declared Covid-19 “the biggest enemy of Burundians.”

Both Magufuli and Nkurunziza were fervent Christians, the Tanzanian a devout Catholic, the Burundian a Pentecostal, and both had a penchant for populist politics. The intersection of religion, social media misinformation and populism in the two presidents’ approach created a perfect combination for an anti-science, conspiracy-filled fertile ground for Covid-19 misinformation to thrive.

Weaponisation of Social Media

Only 22% of the continent’s population has internet access. While the digital divide between rural and urban Africans is still wide, with increasing availability of cheap smartphones, and enabling infrastructure like rural electrification and broadband programmes, there is increased access to information via online platforms compared to traditional broadcast media. This is creating a challenge with communities that are not media-savvy and are unable to decipher context or fact-check information received, and are therefore more prone to misinformation.

Consequently, social media has had a devastating role in fueling Covid-19 misinformation in Africa.  From ‘WhatsApp aunties,’ to religious leaders who claim that the virus does not exist, or that Africans are immune to it, or that it is just the flu, or a punishment from God, the information ecosystem has been fostering faster spread of Covid-19 denialism. This ecosystem feeds off each other, mutates and multiplies just like the virus itself as it moves easily and seamlessly across platforms reaching broad audiences. An obscure video from Brazil will reach the remotest village in Nigeria within minutes.

Socio-Economic Impacts of Covid-19 Denialism

As more African countries procure vaccines and inoculate citizens, it is expected that the pandemic will soon recede, and economies are revived. Approaches like that of Tanzania will likely harm its once thriving tourism industry as more tourists perceive it as an unsafe destination. Already, a number of countries have banned flights to and from Tanzania, including some neighbouring ones like Kenya that have closed some borders with the country. Most Western embassies currently maintain the highest-level travel risk advisories against the country. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, tourism was Tanzania’s fastest growing sector, employing over 10% of the total workforce and serving as the largest single source of foreign currency. The proposed adoption of Vaccine Passports, if implemented, is likely to further isolate the country.

Corruption and Covid Conspiracies

Meanwhile, Covid-19 has turned out to be not just a health and economic crisis but also a corruption crisis. The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on January 28, 2021 by Transparency International reveals that persistent corruption is undermining health care systems and contributing to democratic backsliding amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Politicians, from South Africa to Uganda, have taken advantage of the pandemic to illegally seize lucrative procurement deals, and gone on borrowing sprees, ballooning countries’ domestic and external debt in the process. This has further fueled conspiracies in some countries that Covid-19 and its numbers are a ploy by corrupt leaders to rip off taxpayers.

Ultimately, the seeds of misinformation, including a culture of mistrust and skepticism against the government, have the potential to affect public programmes implementation, in public health and beyond, as populations will continue to question the science and intentions.

Addressing the Covid Denialism Infodemic

  • Misinformation counter-narratives: As fake news and misinformation thrive on social media, governments need to utilise the same platforms, including through champions, with counter scientific messaging to allay fears, misconceptions and conspiracy theories.
  • Multi-agency coordination and collaboration: Close coordination and collaboration among fact-checkers, public health institutions and other communications stakeholders is essential for addressing the unique misinformation challenges faced today, “where informational ambiguity based on scant or conflicting evidence, or emerging scientific knowledge can exacerbate the spread of disease.”
  • Narrow the Digital Divide: Dedicated efforts to promote connectivity in tandem with digital and media literacy programmes should be scaled up.
  • Promote Covid-19 data transparency: Many African countries have established Covid-19 websites and information portals where infections, deaths and recovery rates are published. Meanwhile, the WHO Africa Region and CDC Africa run dashboards that are updated daily. However, many other governments still do not report routine Covid-19 data. Readily available, accessible data including on cases, procurement, vaccines, emergency relief and other measures will provide firsthand evidence to users and dispel misinformation and improve transparency around containment measures.

Bernard Sabiti is a Kampala-based Public Policy researcher and analyst focussing on the role of data and access to information in sustainable development.

09Apr

Promoting Digital Inclusion for Refugees Amid the Covid-19 Crisis in Egypt

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By Mohamed Farahat |

The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has dramatically transformed our daily lives, making the virtual world the new reality for many people. However, for many others, including refugees, it has further served to deepen their digital exclusion.

Since the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Egypt in February 2020, the number of confirmed cases, including deaths, has been increasing. By April 08, 2021, there have been 207,293 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 12,290 deaths, reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). In order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, the Egyptian government took several preventive measures, including ordering a partial lockdown, suspending all public events, imposition of restrictions on movements, and closing of schools and universities.

The pandemic has demonstrated that ensuring access to the internet has never been more vital than it is today. Governments have increasingly been challenged to meet their obligation to bridge the digital divide for vulnerable groups, especially those that lack internet access.

Refugees are often amongst the most vulnerable groups in the host countries and the pandemic has served to further exacerbate their vulnerability. Egypt hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers from 57 countries. As of December 31, 2020, the country had registered at least 259,292 refugees and asylum-seekers. The pandemic rendered many refugees jobless, with no income to cover internet costs and thereby keeping them out of connectivity. As a result, there is an increased need for the state to address gaps in digital access, affordability and ultimately access to information during this time of crisis.

Refugees and Access to ICT

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), refugees are 50% less likely to own internet-enabled phones than the rest of the population. The situation is more dire in rural areas, where 20% of refugees do not have a permanent means of communication. In urban areas, where the internet is available, many refugees cannot afford to access the internet due to the lack of income and thus, like other vulnerable sections of society, refugees continue to lag behind in a quickly digitalising world.

Recognising the internet connectivity challenges faced by refugees, the UNHCR launched a global initiative – Connectivity for Refugees  – with the purpose of ensuring that all refugees, and the communities that host them, have access to available, affordable and usable mobile and internet connectivity in order to leverage these technologies for protection, communications, education, health, self-reliance, and community empowerment.

Vitality of Internet Access

According to the UNHCR-Egypt country office, the majority of refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt were already highly vulnerable prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 and have been directly impacted by the evolving circumstances. Many have lost their sources of income and cannot afford to buy sufficient basic supplies or pay their rent.

While access to the internet has been essential for refugees to work, learn, access information, and express their opinions, its usage has decreased dramatically due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Restrictions have been imposed on several daily spheres such as freedom of movement, work and education.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced most organisations and refugee service providers, including the UNHCR Egypt office, to close offices in preference for remote working. Further, the UNHCR came to rely on online communications such as via zoom including in conducting  interviews with refugees. During this period, the handling of refugees’ applications and the conduct of awareness raising sessions  were held through online video and audio-conferencing platforms. In spite of this adaptation, most of this work was stalled by connectivity and accessibility challenges faced by the refugees.

The Right to Education

With the pandemic effects of quarantines and lock downs, virtual life became inevitable for common activities including education. Many education institutions have embraced distance learning which is majorly reliant on internet access and connectivity. The  UNHCR –Egypt Fact sheet for July 2020 notes that more than half of all refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR are children and youths of school age.

However, the digital approach raises questions as to whether refugee students can afford and are accessing the education delivered via digital platforms. As the UNHCR has noted, most of the refugee and host communities have limited access to hardware devices, and connectivity is thus prohibitively expensive. Additionally, lack of access also limits acquisition/development of the digital literacy and skills required by teachers, students, and their communities to make the most of the available learning resources.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has proposed some solutions, including the use and prioritisation of digital and broadcast remote learning policies to universally address the needs of all households and to accommodate situations where children do not have the necessary technological assets at home, through deliberate policies that facilitate infrastructure development in technology for displaced persons and children in remote and rural areas and those displaced by emergencies.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The high costs of computers and smartphones and of accessing the internet have left most refugees without connectivity. Similarly, enabling tools like SIM cards are usually hard to access for refugees without official documents.

Refugees have a right to access the internet and to enjoy all digital rights and freedoms. Accordingly, there should be the necessary infrastructure to enable access to services and information. However, the impediments that came because of Covid-19 have fundamentally affected online activities including learning for refugees.

The Egyptian government is therefore urged to take all measures that aim to ensure accessible and affordable internet to all individuals including refugees whose health and education continue to be greatly threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Specifically, the government and responsible agencies such as the UNHCR should double their efforts to ensure that refugee communities have access to SIM cards to facilitate easy internet access by easing on the stringent requirements to register for SIM cards. In this regard, the government should allow refugees to use their UNHCR-issued identity cards to register for telephone and internet services.

Additionally, it is critical that measures are taken to ensure that refugee students do not miss out on education by providing the necessary digital technologies to enable them attend school and sit for their examinations.

Mohamed Farahat is a 2020 CIPESA Fellow. He is an Egyptian human rights lawyer, specialising in refugees and migration. As part of the fellowship, he is documenting inclusion of refugees in the technology-based responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in Egypt; and the role of the judiciary in the internet freedom landscape in North Africa.

09Apr

Telcos in Nigeria and Kenya Should Address Exclusion of Persons With Disabilities

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By CIPESA Writer |
In January 2019, after nine years in the making, Nigeria signed into law the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018. In Kenya, a similar framework had been signed into law in 2003. Both laws were aimed at promoting a more inclusive society for persons with disabilities.
Sections 24 and 25 of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 require the government to ensure that persons with disabilities are given special considerations, including provision of special communication emergencies.
On the other hand, Kenya’s constitution outlaws’ discrimination on the grounds of disability, under article 27(4). Under article 54, it emphasizes that a person with a disability shall be entitled to treatment with respect and dignity, access to educational institutions and facilities, reasonable access to all places, public transport and information, and access materials and devices including for communications. Additionally, Kenya’s National ICT Policy of 2016 outlines, under article 13, strategies for “an accessible ICT environment in the country in order to enable persons with disabilities to take full advantage of ICTs.”
However, despite these constitutional and other legal provisions, telecom operators in the two countries have largely failed to address the digital communication needs of persons with disabilities.
At least 7% of Nigeria’s (25 million people) and 3.5% of Kenya’s population (1.3 million people) are recognized by countries’ national census as persons with disabilities. Yet major operators – with the exception of Safaricom in Kenya – have failed to make their services accessible to a large section of this customer segment.
Section 15(1) of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007 issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) requires telcos to ensure that the interests of consumers with disabilities are fully taken into account in developing and providing their services. However, leading telcos MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, which jointly have a 75% share of the telecom market share, have done little to fulfil this requirement.
In both countries, whereas the outlets of the telecom companies assessed were physically accessible to persons with disabilities, there was a stark lack of training for sales and customer services staff in serving persons with disabilities. In total, ten companies in five countries were assessed, including Safaricom and Wananchi Telecom (Kenya), Airtel Nigeria and MTN Nigeria, along with others in Botswana, South Africa, and Uganda. The assessment was guided by a tool that drew assessment criteria from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Model Accessibility Policy 2014, the Web and Mobile Content Accessibility Guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The telecom companies were assessed on various facets of promoting digital accessibility, such as availability of accessible handsets and other mobile devices embedded with accessibility features; physical accessibility of sales and customer service outlets of the telecom operators; and whether the operators trained their staff to serve customers with disabilities.
In Nigeria, despite its high population of persons with disabilities, the Joint National Association of Persons Living with Disabilities (JONAPWD) reported that there were barely any accessible and affordable devices offered for sale by telecom companies. Equally, the telecom companies had not made any efforts to offer accessible services.
In contrast, Safaricom in Kenya had put considerable effort in sensitivity training and upskilling its staff in the provision of services to persons with disabilities. Further, it created a database of its customers with visual impairment and once they call its customer service numbers, they are connected to customer care agents trained to cater to them.
In December 2017, Safaricom introduced the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) that enabled visually impaired customers to manage their M-Pesa transactions; and in November 2018, it launched the DOT Braille Watch, which displayed SMS notifications in braille, enabling the visually impaired to use M-Pesa services without having to seek assistance from third parties. Safaricom had also committed to employing more persons with disabilities and as of April 2019, it reported that 2.1% of its employees were persons with disabilities (up from 1.7% in 2018), with ambitions of reaching 5% in coming years.
Given the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to make significant improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities, telecom operators need to address their concerns regarding the operators’ services and products. They should provide public information or communication in accessible formats such as Braille, large print, visual and audio formats; understand the numbers and needs of their customers with disabilities so that they build focused products and services to suit these customers; ramp up sensitivity training for staff, including in basic sign language; and improve availability for sale of affordable mobile telecommunication devices with accessible features.
Further, telecom companies should form partnerships with academia, civil society, disability rights organisations, tech developers and innovators as well as device manufacturers to develop accessible mobile communication solutions. Finally, operators in Kenya, Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa should look to Safaricom and Vodacom South Africa for learning examples on how to proactively and consistently work to improve digital accessibility and build partnerships that improve service provision to persons with disabilities.
See the full report here.

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