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Leadership and governance
Overview
Rehabilitation governance refers to the steering and rule-making functions carried out by governments and decision-makers to achieve national rehabilitation objectives. It typically includes setting the strategic direction for rehabilitation through legislation, policy, and planning, and then methods for overseeing implementation of actions, establishing accountability and tracking progress. Strong and effective governance includes coordination, collaboration and coalition building and it provides a foundation and directional guidance for the strengthening of rehabilitation in countries.
Most governance functions for rehabilitation are situated within the ministry of health. Health ministries are well placed to provide governance and stewardship for rehabilitation as it can be integrated into the wider health governance mechanisms and processes (e.g. health monitoring, and regulation). While effective governance is crucial for developing rehabilitation services that meet the population’s need, unfortunately in many countries it is limited and commonly requires attention.
Governance can be strengthened in countries through establishing steering and/or technical working groups that work together to set the strategic direction for rehabilitation and undertake mid- to long-term planning. This type of planning can occur through the development of a dedicated rehabilitation strategic plan, as well as through the integration of rehabilitation into other health planning such as a national health strategic plan. Dedicated strategic planning for rehabilitation creates a shared vision for rehabilitation, identifies the priorities, sets objectives, and describes the actions required to achieve them. Rehabilitation strategic planning catalyses and strengthens the political commitment and financial investment required to strengthen services. WHO encourages all countries to undertake some form of rehabilitation strategic planning.
Relevant resources
In 2017 WHO published Rehabilitation in Health Systems. This resource provides guidance on how rehabilitation should be strengthened in countries. Government leaders, health policy-makers and rehabilitation experts can use this resource to guide decision-making for development of stronger services that meet all the population’s needs.
In 2019 WHO launched the Rehabilitation in health systems: guide for action. This resource provides guidance for countries when undertaking rehabilitation strategic planning. It supports this process by guiding governments through a 4-phase process of (1) rehabilitation situation assessment; (2) strategic planning; (3) development of a monitoring framework, evaluation and review processes; and (4) implementation of the strategic plan.