Planning accessibility in the Middle East and North Africa

An effective accessibility plan starts with the tasks people need to complete. A public service may involve a website, an application form, supporting documents and confirmation messages, each managed by a different team.

For organisations across the Middle East and North Africa, planning also needs to account for Arabic and English experiences. This guide explains how to define an initial assessment that produces clear priorities and a practical next step.

Map priority journeys

Select a manageable set of important journeys, such as applying for a service or managing an account. Follow each from the first information a person needs through to completion and confirmation.

Include the channels and materials needed to complete each task:

• The pages and screens, on every platform the service runs on.
• The documents they are sent, and the ones they have to send back.
• The messages — email, SMS, in-app — that tell them what happened.
• The support channel they reach for when it goes wrong.

This approach can cover customers, employees and applicants. It helps reveal barriers between systems and teams, alongside issues within individual pages.

Assess both languages

Assess Arabic and English versions of each selected journey. Review language switching, labels, reading order and keyboard interaction, using assistive technology appropriate to the intended audience.

Use representative content, including Arabic names, addresses and mixed Arabic and Latin text. These examples help identify issues that placeholder content may miss.

Use terminology that fits the audience and respects individual preferences. In regional communications, AxessAll uses “people of determination”; official standards, legal titles and direct quotations retain their original wording.

Agree responsibilities

Clear ownership helps teams act on assessment findings. Agree the following before work begins:

• What suppliers must meet, and what evidence they must produce.
• Who owns design, content, development and verification.
• How findings get prioritised, and who decides.
• When progress is reviewed as services, policies and teams change.

Define the applicable standards alongside these responsibilities. This may include WCAG, PDF/UA and the UAE A11y Code within the National Digital Accessibility Policy, with Section 508 or EN 301 549 where relevant. Explore standards and compliance.

Example: a service application

Consider an application offered in Arabic and English. A website explains eligibility, a form collects details, a PDF lists supporting documents and an email confirms the next steps.

Define the intended outcome: the person understands the requirements, submits the application and knows what happens next. Use that outcome to identify the content and interactions the assessment must cover.

Check the complete journey in each language. Can people find the form, understand instructions and errors, read supporting documents with assistive technology and use the confirmation message?

Plan the next step

Before assessment begins, agree who will receive the findings, set priorities and implement changes. Include supplier responsibilities, access needs and release dependencies in the plan.

After remediation, verify the affected journeys and record what has been checked. Use recurring findings to improve training, design guidance and procurement requirements. Our accessibility audit service supports this process from scope to findings review.