At 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, the 53 countries of the WHO European Region adopted the first-ever European framework for action to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for people with disabilities.
This new commitment at the highest political level will see governments working together with WHO/Europe to ensure that health systems and societies remove all barriers for people with disabilities. The framework will help countries strengthen disability-inclusive health systems to provide, protect and promote the health and well-being of people with disabilities of all ages and across all contexts.
“When everyone can access the health services they need – without barriers – everyone stands to benefit. The framework agreed today will help to shape a health sector where all, including those living with a disability, are treated with dignity and respect, and can participate fully,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
Dr Kluge added, “It is the culmination of long-standing strategic engagement between WHO and organizations of people with disabilities to realize the right to health for all, and will contribute to delivering the European Programme of Work, WHO’s General Programme of Work and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
Health systems need to be more disability-inclusive
Currently, at least 135 million people in Europe and central Asia live with a disability. Nearly everyone will experience some form of disability (temporary or permanent) at some point in their life.
People with disabilities often have increased needs for health care, but can also face more barriers in accessing and using that care. As a result, they can experience greater unmet health-care needs.
Unmet health-care needs can have detrimental effects on health and well-being, and are associated with worse health outcomes. These include mortality rates that are 2 to 3 times higher than the rest of the population across all ages, and unnecessarily high health-care costs, as delayed access to health care can lead to more difficult and expensive treatments.
Barriers to health-care services are often due to failures in systems and service delivery. Countries need to dismantle the physical barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing health facilities and services. They also need to remove barriers that prevent access to information, and shift attitudes that far too often give rise to discrimination.
“Leaving no one behind means building health systems and societies that work for everyone – including people with disabilities,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO/Europe. “Today’s ambitious resolution is an important step in the right direction. Building on this achievement, we hope that countries will continue to promote inclusive systems, so that everyone can live healthy and prosperous lives.”
Going forward
A paradigm shift will be fundamental to achieving disability inclusion in today’s societies. Disability inclusion is intrinsic to overcoming the 3 most significant challenges to health and well-being for all at all ages: achieving universal health coverage, ensuring that public health interventions are effective and protecting people from health emergencies.
The framework puts forward 4 key principles to move this agenda forward:
- human rights – people with disabilities should enjoy the same rights on an equal basis with others;
- universal design – health-care services, equipment, products and environments must be accessible and useable by all people;
- a life-course approach – health services need to consider the needs of people with disabilities in all stages of life; and
- inclusive health systems – disability inclusion should be integrated across all areas in national health systems.
Collaboration with national and international partners will be essential to placing the voices of people with disabilities and their representative organizations at the centre of decision-making.