Rehabilitation and disability in the Western Pacific

Overview

The World Report on Disability estimates there are more than 1 billion people with disability worldwide, about 15% of the global population. People with disability face widespread barriers to accessing services. They experience poorer health outcomes, lower educational achievement, less economic participation and higher rates of poverty than people without disability. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes disability as a global public health concern, a human rights issue and a development priority. Linked to this, the WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021: Better Health for All People with Disability aims to contribute to improving health, well-being and human rights for people with disability. 

In 2015, the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific conducted a survey on the status of rehabilitation and disability in the Western Pacific Region. It is the first survey of its kind in the Region, intending to provide information on the status of national capacity to provide disability-inclusive health care, rehabilitation, assistive technology, community-based rehabilitation and disability data in the Western Pacific Region.