Mexican Social Security Institute Makes Website Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities in Accordance with UN Treaty Standards

The Mexican Social Security Institute is the first Mexican government agency to offer accessible online content to its citizens with the help of User1st's accessibility solution

Mexico City, Mexico (PRWEB) August 03, 2016

The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (Mexican Social Security Institute, IMSS) has leveraged User1st's Accessibility Suite to make their website accessible to individuals with disabilities. IMSS is the first government agency in Mexico to make the online presence accessible, and the first organization in Latin America to utilize User1st's web accessibility remediation software.

IMSS's initiative was the result of recent efforts by the Mexican government to better serve more than 8 million citizens that live with some form of disability. In December 2015, it was announced that all websites belonging to the Federal Public Administration of Mexico would become accessible to individuals with disabilities. The policy was enacted as an effort to comply with the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to promote, protect and ensure the rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities. Standards of accessibility for the Convention follow the internationally recognized guidelines offered by the World Wide Web Consortium, know as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

User1st offers a codeless accessibility remediation software system. A User1st treated website provides a layer of code and additional informational to a host site, while maintaining the site's original structure and information architecture. User1st's automated ‘code-fixer' corrects existing web pages by generating and applying accessibility skins at the request of an end-user that fit over the web page without altering its content. Different accessibility skins accommodate different needs for different disabilities, such as partial/complete blindness, epilepsy, motor disability and more.

"We are both proud and honored to be able to help IMSS make their online presence accessible to individuals with disabilities. At the end of the day, this is our goal—making the web accessible to everyone," said Amihai Miron, CEO and co-founder of User1st.

Regarding Mexico's recent efforts, Dr. Jerome Kessler, pioneering prosthetist and orthotist, stated, "I cannot think of a more important social impact decision than providing accessibility technology to the disabled community. Mexico's recent decision to include this technology should be applauded and serve as a catalyst around the globe. Mexico's decision is a major breakthrough in empowering an often forgotten constituency." Dr. Kessler is the son of Dr. Henry Kessler, founder of the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation. Kessler Foundation, one of the largest public charities in the United States supporting persons with disabilities, is named after Dr. Henry Kessler.

IMSS's website has since been certified by HEARCOLORS, an independent accessibility evaluation group, as meeting WCAG 2.0 AA standards.

About User1st:
Launched in January 2014, User1st provides an overlay system that enables businesses, organizations and governments to meet both domestic and international web accessibility legislation requirements. User1st maintains a site's original structure and information architecture while correcting accessibility violations. This means that there is no need for fundamental changes or additional code to the initial content, thereby cutting both time and costs associated with achieving accessibility compliance. Visit User1st's blog for web accessibility related news and updates.

Contact:
Neil Levy
n(dot)levy(at)user1st(dot)com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/08/prweb13591037.htm