Posted by Claudio Santiago on 04 Janeiro, 2021
World Braille Day is celebrated today (4). The date was set to draw society's attention to the importance of ensuring ways of including the visually impaired in writing and in accessing books.
The most recent official data on the presence of the visually impaired in Brazil are from the 2010 Census. According to the survey, about 24% of the population had some type of disability at that time, which corresponded to 46 million Brazilians.
The visual is the most common modality. If people with any type of difficulty are considered, the number of citizens with some degree of problem to see reaches almost 20%.
If those who cannot see at all or who have great difficulty are considered, the index drops to 3.4%, the equivalent of 6.5 million people. Of this total, 582.6 thousand are unable to see.
According to the World Vision Report 2019, from the World Health Organization (WHO), 2.2 billion people have some type of visual impairment, 1 billion of whom have a condition that could be prevented or treated.
Also according to WHO, the incidence of visual impairment is four times higher in low- and middle-income countries than in wealthier nations.
The Braille System is an alternative for people who are in these situations to get in touch with reading. Thus, the method contributes to inclusion in one of the main forms of recording and acquiring knowledge, writing.
The Braille System was created by the French Louis Braille in 1925. Blind after an accident in his father's workshop, he adapted methods used by French soldiers for night communication. The final version was presented by him in 1837.
The system is based on dots with relief on papers, which are apprehended through contact with the fingertips. By combining six dots, it is possible to make up to 63 different characters.
According to the World Blind Union, only 5% of books worldwide are transcribed to Braille. In poorer countries, this percentage drops to 1%.
* Collaborated with Mariana Tokarnia
Source: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/direitos-humanos/noticia/2021-01/dia-mundial-do-braile-chama-atencao-para-inclusao-na-escrita-e-leitura#:~ : text = The% 20Day% 20World% 20of% 20Braile, and% 20no% 20access% 20a% 20books.