Hanoi (VNA) - The lack of documents in Braille and audio books, aswell as few sign language speakers limits blind people's development, accordingto Pham Viet Thu, President of the Vietnam Blind Association.

Addressing the workshop 'Developing an advocacy roadmap for the MarrakeshTreaty accession in Vietnam’ in Hanoi on October 29, Thu said documents andbooks are very important means for people to access information, practiseskills, improve their quality of life and contribute to society.

However, the number of books and newspapers in these formats is still verysmall compared to the need.

The Marrakesh Treaty paves the way for enabling those who are blind, visuallyimpaired or otherwise print disabled to access published works.

The treaty enables the production, distribution, importation and exportation ofaccessible format copies without having to ask for right holders’ permission.It also provides reassurances for the publishing industry and the author.

Vietnam is not yet a party to the treaty, so people who can't read normaldocuments have difficulties in accessing literature works that were madepublic, he said.

According to Catherine Phuong, Assistant Resident Representative of UnitedNations Development Programme Vietnam, less than 1 percent of published booksin developing countries are accessible to people with print disabilities, asituation often referred to as a “book famine” which causes seriousconsequences.

The book famine can exclude persons with disabilities from access to education,employment, health care, culture and participation in political, economic andsocial activities. These factors contribute to the high rate of poverty amongthem.

The Marrakesh Treaty would help end book famine and realise the principle of“leaving no one behind” of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, she said.

Improving access to published works inaccessible formats would increasingly become a critical issue in Vietnam, said PhamThi Hai Ha, deputy head of Department of Social Assistance under the Ministryof Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

According to the latest census announced by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam,6.2 million people aged 2 years and above live with disability. Vision disabilitieswere found to be the most prevalent types of disability, accounting for 1.03million.

Vietnam’s population is ageing very fast, which is likely to increase thenumber of the elderly with vision impairments and print disabilities.

Improving accessibility for persons with disabilities, including with regardsto information and knowledge, is an essential element for disability-inclusivesocieties and fulfilling the basic rights spelt out in the Convention on theRights of Persons with Disabilities that Vietnam is a party to, according to Ha./.