Giorgi is a 62-year-old man living in Tbilisi, Georgia. Since 1975, he has lived with fractured cervical vertebrae and spinal cord compression. For the past 45 years, he has been using a wheelchair to go about his daily activities.
In this short video, Giorgi explains why it is important for governments and all of society to include people with disabilities in decision-making about their health and lives.
Inclusion at the heart of WHO/Europe’s work on disabilities
Giorgi is among the more than 135 million people currently living with some form of disability across Europe and central Asia. On 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, WHO/Europe calls for better and more inclusion in the health sector and society, in line with the newly adopted “WHO European framework for action to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities 2022–2030”.
The framework is an ambitious strategy that calls on countries to ensure that people with disabilities can access the care they need, and outlines ways for countries to build inclusive and enabling health systems and environments.