Draft ECOWAS ICT Accessibility Policy (2018) v1 post Burkina Faso and Gambia Workshops (d) Accessibility – all products and services should be able to be used by a person with a disability as effectively as can be used by a person without that disability. (e) Affordability – accessible products, services and resources should be available at a price that is within the means of PwD, and if not alternative funding mechanisms should be available. (f) Availability – a person should be able to access networks and services universally regardless of their geographic location, social status or physical ability. (g) Universal Design - products, environments, programmes and services should be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. (h) Accountability - stakeholders should accept responsibility for their roles and agree to work together with integrity and in a transparent manner to achieve the desired outcomes. 5. CHALLENGES FACED BY PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES Some of the challenges that are faced by PwD in the region which prevent them from participating actively and on an equal basis in society include that in order to use ICT’s they may require: (a) access to end-user equipment, such as mobile handsets, televisions, tablets and computers, that offer features to enable PwD to use ICTs effectively. This policy recognizes that there are often challenges with respect to the availability and affordability of end user equipment which, when obtainable, may be at an additional cost to the end user. Even where there is no additional cost, and accessibility features are embedded in mobile handsets, for example, awareness, training and education of both users and service providers are often required in order to break the accessibility barrier. (b) access to assistive technologies that should be free or available at a low cost through subsidies or grants. A broad range of assistive technologies should be available in West Africa and should be affordable. PWD and those who assist them need to be trained on the use of technologies and features made available in the mainstream devices. (c) access to services and interfaces to ensure that content available on television, the Internet or in other electronic formats is accessible by all users for example, through the use of captions for users who are deaf or hard of hearing and audio description for users who are blind or visually impaired. There also need to be awareness campaigns on the design and availability of accessible content. 8