More than 1 billion people worldwide experience disability, and this number is growing, driven by increased numbers of people with noncommunicable diseases, who are also living longer and ageing with limitations in functioning.
Persons with disabilities face many health inequities: they die earlier, have poorer health and functioning, and are more affected by health emergencies than the general population. These inequities in health outcomes cannot only be explained by an underlying health condition or impairment but are driven by unfair and unjust factors that are avoidable. They are linked to inequitable service delivery models, inaccessible public health interventions, and little consideration given to persons with disabilities during health emergency planning.
At the 74th World Health Assembly in May 2021, Member States adopted resolution WHA74.8 on The highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities. One of the requests in the resolution, to the WHO Director General, was to develop a Global Report on the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities by the end of 2022. In response to this request, WHO has developed the WHO Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities in consultation with Member States and disability and health sector stakeholders.
Objective
The global launch of the WHO Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities aims to raise awareness on health equity for persons with disabilities and mobilize action across a range of stakeholders (including governments, civil society organizations, development agencies, and other health sector partners). The specific objectives of the global launch event are to:
Share the key messages of the Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities, particularly for Member States
Highlight the importance of including persons with disabilities in health sector planning, implementation, and monitoring to ensure effective health systems strengthening
Outline opportunities for countries and health sector partners to act to address long-standing health inequities for persons with disabilities through the sharing of personal experiences.
To mark the release of the WHO Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities, a hybrid event (face-to-face at WHO Head Quarters and broadcast online) is proposed to commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The event took place on 2 December 2022 at 14:00 – 15:30 CET / 8:00 – 09:30 EST / 18:30 – 20:00 IST
Video: Launch of the WHO Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities
For the video of the launch, you can also access an accessible transcript in English, and the presentation slides.
The working language of the event was English. Interpretation was provided in all official languages of the United Nations and International Sign Language. Captioning was also available in English.