Competition projects update

More information can be found on our projects page.

Accessible information on public transport, CSIR Transportek, South Africa

A literature review of knowledge on low-cost/appropriate technologies for accessible information on public transport is complete and was presented at a workshop in Pretoria, along with proposals for demonstration projects in India and South Africa. The project in South Africa will take place in Gauteng Province, with minibus taxis, and concentrate on formalising signals and signs, training taxi staff on the importance of assisting disabled people to use public transport, and visible technology (destination boards). Initial work will take place in a high-density suburban area with a school of the deaf and blind.

The project in India will be with the Pune bus industry and inputs include installation of a voice-integrated electronic route-destination display system.

Wheelchair design in Africa, Motivation, UK

Work has been completed on the simplified three-wheel wheelchair for use in a rural environment and the design will be introduced to the Wheelchair Technologists Training Course (WTTC) in October 2004. Production of the wheelchair technology guidebook is progressing well and a first draft will be produced ahead of schedule in August 2004.

TATCOT, Motivation and the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya have been sharing their experiences and knowledge to develop a new design of hand-propelled tricycle, which is now being tested. Terms of reference for a feasibility trip to El Salvador in October 2004 have also been drawn up. This will further research the possibility of 'exporting' the WTTC course to an accredited training centre in a low-income country.

Improving access to disability information, Handicap International UK
and Source International Information Support Centre, UK

The first quarter of the year has seen the strengthening of the database, providing access to over 3,400 disability resources, including 400 organisations working in the field of disability. A more dynamic design has improved the interface to help users, and recommendations resulting from the database needs assessment will follow shortly. Disability-related information continues to be added to the database by Source, which is also working to improve links with other disability-related organisations, in particular to improve access to unpublished ('grey') literature from the field. Work has also begun on reviewing the accessibility of the Source website for people with visual impairments.

A visit by the Disability Information Officer to Handicap International's headquarters in Lyon, France, provided the opportunity to collaborate with country officers for West Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, including linking with disability resource centres at field level.

Membership system for disability organisations, POWER - The International Limb Project, UK

Laos Disabled People's Association (LDPA) now has over 1,500 registered members and the database is complete. A Database Operation Manual has been produced and disseminated to all Provincial Branch Secretaries (PBS). A database manager has been employed by COPE to work full-time with the project for the next two-and-a-half years.

Training on database entry and analysis has been given to PBS in Luang Phrabang and Xayabouri Provincial Offices. Training to LPDA Head Quarters staff in database management is ongoing. It has proved difficult applying Lao Script onto the databases, and some activities have been affected by the departure of the outreach officer responsible for liaison between LDPA HQ and Provincial Branches, but both these issues are being addressed.

Healthcare technology management guides, Ziken Consultants, UK

Teams of reviewers from nine countries have now completed a comprehensive review of the six healthcare manuals - on medical equipment management procedures for the developing world - and their comments are being incorporated. One of the manuals is ready for desk-top publishing and work is progressing on editing and drafting the other five. All planned work should be completed by December 2004.

Health information systems research, Baobab Health Partnership, USA

Initial meetings at Lilongwe Central Hospital, Malawi, laid the foundations of the project and established the need for a dedicated information systems department (ISD) to develop and manage the systems. Space to house the new ISD has been identified and is currently being renovated.

Computer hardware purchases are complete and the majority of the equipment is already on site. Workstation deployment in the laboratory and X-ray departments commenced in June. Expansion of the network infrastructure is ongoing. To date the hospital pharmacy has been connected to the network, and adult patients can now be registered there as well as in the outpatient department. Over 30,500 adult patients have been registered so far, in addition to the 86,700+ children registered since the pilot project started in the paediatric department in May 2001.