With over 650 million people or 10 per cent of the world’s population living with a disability according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, more than 70 per cent of this population are confirmed to be economically redundant the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP has said.
In Nigeria, statistics from 2006 census revealed that over 3 million people are living with disabilities, majority of whom are said to in the labour market as a result of their status.
Research has further proved that people living with disabilities are considered unsound and are usually sidelined from economic activities majorly because they are considered to lack the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAO) by employers.
With adoptive technology which the United States Assistive Technology Act of 1998 defines as ‘product, device, or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customised, that is used to maintain, increase, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities,’ has come to take care of some of the challenges hindering the absorption of the people living with long-term conditions into the economy and social settings.
Some of these technologies which include text readers, speech recognitions, touch screen displays are confirmed not to only close disability employment gap to the benefit of both workers and employers, but also guarantee financial independence and improve quality of social lives.
According to the Managing Director of LG Electronics, West Africa operations, Mr. Taeick Son, it was imperative to empower and support people with long-term conditions to remain in or return to work so as to have a thriving and inclusive society.
Beyond economic reasons, Son noted that innovations of such offered creative solutions that would enable individuals with disability challenges such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking or just being able to grasp or lift to be more independent, productive, and included in society and community life.
He stated that this was why the company was investing hugely in technology that would not only raise the hope of the over 3 million sidelined persons in the country but also help its recovery economy.
SON said“LG Electronics has continued to design programmes and products that promote inclusivity in the society. It has continued to recognise the challenges faced by physically challenged persons, thereby creating a platform suitable to help them actualise their various dreams of acquiring knowledge to live a more fulfilling life.
“We are committed to creating barrier-breaking products that would ensure equal opportunities for all our consumers as well as innovative products that would increase societal participation especially for disabled consumers, thereby preparing the ground for them to unleash their potential.â€
Highlighting some of the company’s products fulfilling the above-stated obligations, Son stated that the LG refrigerator with auto open door mechanism feature and a smart sensor detector which causes it to open automatically saves customers the activity of pulling.
Continuing, he said, “The Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) assists motorists and aged consumers to garner traffic information in real time as well as avert vehicular casualties on the road.â€
“Interestingly, we now have TVs that boast of features ideal for viewers with specific needs while we are also working to perfect our R&D projects in order to improve viewing experience for everyone. The WebOS feature makes it possible to enlarge sections of the screen by up to 500% which is perfect for users with visual impairments. We are also investing on more innovations that would sure improve the productivity of our consumers,†he added.
Adaptive technology is another major breakthrough and disruption of high tech which has proven highly beneficial to the society as a whole, hence, the need to be explored by technology players for market expansion.
