Republic of Mauritius- Mauritian Sign Language The live broadcasting of one news bulletin being examined

The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth made this statement, yesterday, at the National Assembly, in Port Louis.  The MBC, he highlighted, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity and the Society for the Welfare of the Deaf, is already providing an eight to 10 minutes news bulletin in the Mauritian Sign Language.  This bulletin is broadcasted every Saturday on MBC 1 at around 17.55 hours and on MBC SAT on the same day at 19.20 hours.

The Mauritian Sign Language News Bulletin, he added, can only be done on recorded mode, as the MBC does not have the required technical facilities for live broadcast of such news bulletins, at this stage.

In addition, Mr Jugnauth pointed out that from 18 December 2019 to 18 January 2020, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre (NDRRMC) carried out a series of sensitisation campaigns in the Mauritian Sign Language on the MBC TV.  The campaigns focused on disaster and disaster management to raise awareness among persons suffering from hearing impairment. The NDRRMC, he stated, will carry out the sensitisations again during the current financial year.

The Prime Minister also underscored that a video in the Mauritian Sign Language was produced by the Society for the Welfare of the Deaf for the awareness campaigns carried out through television.  The objective was to sensitise the population on the COVID-19 pandemic, while ongoing campaigns on health issues are still being carried out in the Mauritian Sign Language. The major coverages of the MBC news bulletins are broadcasted with special subtitling to reach a broader audience, including those with hearing impairment, he further observed.