Deaf people in Portugal have been unable to directly contact the 112 emergency services for almost five years. The situation is due to the fact that the MAI112 app, which allowed establishing a video call between the deaf person and an operator from the Emergency Patient Guidance Centre (CODU), stopped working in December 2021, without any replacement solution being found.
The Association of Families and Friends of the Deaf (AFAS) warned this week about what it classifies as a "state of primitive dependence", in which deaf citizens find themselves forced to rely on third parties to call for help in emergency situations.
Luís Neves, one of the affected individuals, revealed that he only found out about this reality "recently", highlighting the significant impact that the absence of this service has on the daily life and safety of deaf people. AFAS is demanding that authorities find a solution that allows deaf citizens to once again access emergency services independently.
