Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Dr Soe Nyunt-U, and World Bank (WB) Group Acting Country Director Ms Chiyo Kanda, led the launch of the World Report on Disability in the Philippines at the opening ceremonies of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Community-Based Rehabilitation Congress on 29 November 2011 at the Hotel Sofitel, Manila. About 640 CBR practitioners and advocates from 63 countries and high-level cabinet officials led by DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman and DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima witnessed the launch.
The World Report on Disability is a joint undertaking of the WHO and WB Group. It provides an overview of the status of disability in the world as well as global estimates of persons with disabilities. The global prevalence of disability is estimated at 15.6% of people 15 years and older. The report recommends that governments and their development partners do more to improve the rights and participation of people with disabilities in society.
The launch served as the opening activity for the 2nd Asia Pacific CBR Congress, which was hosted jointly by the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) and Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR)- Asia Pacific (AP) Network. WHO and other development partners supported the Congress. The theme of the Congress was "CBR: Building communities for everyone", with sub-theme "mainstreaming disability in the development agenda".
The CBR congress aimed to: (1) promote multi-sectoral partnerships for the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD), Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and other development initiatives; (2) share good practices in CBR for inclusive development; (3) promote participation in the CBR Asia Pacific Network; and (4) explore the possibilities of forming the CBR Global Network.