Commissioner for Protection of Equality Brankica Jankovic conferred with representatives of the Serbian Association of Deaf and Hard of Hearing about the position of hearing-impaired people and possibilities for its improvement.

Representatives of deaf and hard of hearing community from several Serbian cities told Commissioner that their biggest problem is the list of medical aids and prolonged period of right to these aids (from 4 to 7 years), as well as the amount of compensation for the aids that allows the purchase of the cheapest equipment.

Jankovic stressed that it is very important to include our citizens belonging to this sensitive group more intensively in all areas of life and that it is therefore necessary to develop additional social services, especially for children in educational process, who need other types of support, beside medical aids.

Sufficient number of well- trained sign language interpreters would make life of deaf and hard of hearing people easier and better, concluded Commissioner.