The World Health Organization (WHO) convened the first in-person meeting of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Assistive Technology on 6 and 7 May 2025 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. The meeting marked a critical milestone in the process of updating the WHO Priority Assistive Products List (APL), which was first published in 2016.
The TAG, composed of 24 independent experts from all six WHO regions, gathered to review and prioritize assistive products for inclusion in the updated APL. Seventeen members participated in person, while six joined remotely. WHO Secretariat colleagues from relevant departments also attended as observers.
The APL is a model list of priority assistive products, aligned with the WHO Essential Medicines List and Essential Diagnostics List. The APL supports countries in strengthening access to assistive technology, through their development of national priority lists, with which to shape policies, guide procurement and implement provision. Since its launch, 23 countries have adopted national lists based on the WHO model.
In line with the World Health Assembly resolution WHA71.8 and informed by the 2022 UNICEF-WHO Global report on assistive technology, WHO is undertaking a comprehensive update of the APL. The update process is grounded in a transparent, evidence-based methodology, including product evaluations, price reviews, and stakeholder consultations.
Over two days, TAG members worked to assess and prioritize 300 assistive products, grouped by six functional domains – cognition, communication, hearing, mobility, self-care and vision. The agenda included domain-specific sub-group sessions, cross-domain reviews and consensus-building discussions in plenary.
By the end of the meeting, the TAG had developed a preliminary prioritized list of assistive products for each domain. These recommendations will inform the next phase of the update process, which includes a series of six regional and one global stakeholder consultations scheduled for June 2025.
“This meeting represents a significant step toward realizing the vision of universal access to assistive technology for all,” said Deusdedit Mubangizi, Director of the WHO Health Products and Policy Department, in his opening remarks. The expert guidance provided by the TAG will help shape a robust, evidence-informed update to the APL, supporting countries in meeting the needs of their populations and reinforcing WHO’s commitment to universal health coverage.
