WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014-2021: Better Health for All ….

WHO. World Health Organization. WHO global disability action plan 2014-2021. Better health for all people with disability. Geneva. 2015.

In May 2013, the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly in resolution WHA66.9 on disability endorsed the recommendations of the World report on disability.3 The Health Assembly requested the Director-General to prepare, in consultation with Member States4 and organizations of the United Nations system, a comprehensive WHO action plan based on the evidence in the World report on disability, and in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 61/106) and the outcome document of the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the realization of the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals for persons with disabilities: the way forward, a disability-inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond.

Disability is universal. Everybody is likely to experience disability directly or to have a family member who experiences difficulties in functioning at some point in his or her life, particularly when they grow older. Following the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and its derivative version for children and youth, this action plan uses “disability” as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions, denoting the negative aspects of the interaction between an individual (with a health condition) and that individual’s contextual (environmental and personal) factors. Disability is neither simply a biological nor a social phenomenon.

WHO recognizes disability as a global public health issue, a human rights issue and a development priority. Disability is a global public health issue because people with disability, throughout the life course, face widespread barriers in accessing health and related services, such as rehabilitation, and have worse health outcomes than people without disability. Some health conditions may also be a risk factor for other health problems, which are often poorly managed, such as a higher incidence of obesity in people with Down syndrome and higher prevalence of diabetes or bowel cancer in people with schizophrenia. Disability is also a human rights issue because adults, adolescents and children with disability experience stigmatization, discrimination and inequalities; they are subject to multiple violations of their rights including their dignity, for instance through acts of violence, abuse, prejudice and disrespect because of their disability, and they are denied autonomy. Disability is a development priority because of its higher prevalence in lower-income countries and because disability and poverty reinforce and perpetuate one another. Poverty increases the likelihood of impairments through malnutrition, poor health care, and dangerous living, working and travelling conditions. Disability may lead to a lower standard of living and poverty through lack of access to education and employment, and through increased expenditure related to disability.

The action plan will be relevant to and should benefit all people with disability from birth to old age. Persons with disability include people who are traditionally understood as disabled, such as children born with cerebral palsy, wheelchair users, persons who are blind or deaf or people with intellectual impairments or mental health conditions, and also the wider group of persons who experience difficulties in functioning due to a wide range of conditions such as noncommunicable diseases, infectious diseases, neurological disorders, injuries, and conditions that result from the ageing process. Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities indicates that persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Much of WHO’s mission is dedicated to the prevention of health conditions that may result in death, morbidity or disability. This action plan, however, is directed at improving the health, functioning and well-being of people with disability. It therefore considers prevention only in so far as persons with disabilities require the same access to preventive services and programmes as others. Prevention includes a wide range of measures aimed at reducing risks or threats to health: promotion of healthy lifestyles, such as guidance on good nutrition, the importance of regular physical exercise and avoiding tobacco use; protection of people from developing a health condition in the first place, such as immunization against infectious diseases or safe birthing practices; detection of a secondary or co-morbid health condition at an early stage, such as screening for diabetes or depression; and reduction of the impact of an established health condition, by means such as pain management, rehabilitation programmes, patient support groups or removal of barriers to access. Improving access to preventive services and programmes for persons with disabilities is important for achieving better health outcomes and is covered by Objectives 1 and 2 of this plan.

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