Assistive Technology in urban low-income communities in Sierra Leone and Indonesia: Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) survey results

The prevalence of disability and need for Assistive Technology (AT) – which comprise assistive products and their related services – have been documented in general terms, there is little data on low-income settlements in the global south. This is an important hiatus, given the close association between disability and poverty. In the global south, many AT users must pay for access to AT.

Therefore it is to be expected that residents of low-income settlements in the global south face particular challenges in accessing AT. To contribute to this knowledge gap, the findings from the surveys presented in this report give a unique insight into disability prevalence and access to AT in five urban low-income communities in Sierra Leone and Indonesia, where a total of 4,256 individuals were surveyed using the rATA tool.4 Designed for the rapid evaluation of the need, use, supply and impact of AT, Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) is a new survey from WHO. A version modified by the Development Planning Unit-University College London (DPU-UCL) was conducted in September 2019 for the research project “AT2030 community led solutions”,5 as part of the AT2030 programme led by Global Disability Innovation Hub.