Humanity & Inclusion has released its new report “Rehabilitation for All: Essential Throughout Life and for Many Health Conditions”, supported by the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD).
Drawing on evidence, case studies, and voices from Benin, Haiti, Uganda and globally, the report highlights that rehabilitation is a life-changing health strategy for 1 in 3 people, across all age groups and health conditions. It illustrates persistent gaps, as well as successful strategies to make quality rehabilitation and assistive technology accessible to those in need.
With the UN High-Level Political Forum opening in one week and this year’s focus on SDG 3 (Health and Well-Being), we emphasise that rehabilitation is something that anyone may need at some point in life. Despite growing recognition and political commitments, including the 2023 World Health Assembly resolution, rehabilitation is still too often overlooked and underfunded.
Key messages:
- Rehabilitation supports recovery, independence and participation in education, work, social life of people across the lifespan—from childhood to older age.
- Rehabilitation is essential for people experiencing limitations in their daily functioning, due to a range of conditions (injuries, NCDs, ageing, chronic diseases…).
- Timely rehabilitation and assistive technology improve health outcomes and are especially critical in emergencies.
- Sustainable financing is urgent, given the unprecedented cuts to global aid and persistently low domestic investment.
A few key data points:
- Over 50% of people in low- and middle-income countries do not access the rehabilitation services they need.
- In Uganda, 27.2% of assistive products are provided by NGOs.
- In Benin, there are just 19 rehabilitation professionals per million people.
- In Haiti, 93 of 141 communes lack rehabilitation services.
- From 2011 to 2021, years lived with disability (YLDs) rose from 270 to 340 million, creating greater rehabilitation needs.