During the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth services has increased substantially in many countries, becoming a basic need for the general population. However, many persons with disabilities experience difficulties and challenges accessing
and using telehealth services. For example, very often telehealth platforms are not compatible with devices such as screen readers that facilitate people with vision impairment to access information, or the lack of captioning or volume control
in video conferencing impedes persons who are deaf or hard of hearing to interact with health professionals virtually.
To address this, the World Health Organization and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) developed jointly a global standard for accessibility of telehealth services. This standard provides a list of technical requirements that telehealth
platforms must have to ensure accessible telehealth service provision. All requirements are based on the best available evidence, as well as the comprehensive feedback and input collected from civil society and the industry. The requirements are
intended for adoption by Member States as regulations or legislation and should also be voluntarily implemented by healthcare professionals and manufacturers.
Objective
This side event will be the official launch of the WHO-ITU global standard for accessibility of telehealth services.
The event is co-hosted by WHO and the ITU.
During the launch, WHO and ITU, together with governments, civil society, private sector, healthcare professionals and persons with disabilities will engage in dialogue on the importance of accessible telehealth and the adoption of the standard in
national health agendas.
The launch is an official side event during the 15th session of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The virtual event will take place on 16 June 2022 at 16:00 – 17:15 CET / 10:00 – 11:15 EST