COSP16 side-event: Health equity for persons with disabilities
This side event, co-hosted by the WHO, Israel, the International Disability Alliance, and the International Disability and Development Consortium, aims to present the findings of the WHO Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities including a focus on the upcoming work to support countries to implement the recommendations from the report. It would also seek to engage Member States, health sector partners and civil society in dialogue on the entry points to prioritizing and strengthening disability inclusion in national health agendas to address health inequities for persons with disabilities.
The WHO Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities, launched in December 2022, estimates that approximately 1.3 billion, or 1 in 6 people in the world, have significant disability. The Global Report demonstrates that persons with disabilities experience health inequities, due to avoidable, unjust and unfair conditions. These include (i) structural factors, such as stigma and discrimination; (ii) social determinants, such as poverty and lack of education; (iii) disease risk factors such as tobacco consumption and obesity; and (iv) attitudinal, institutional, and physical barriers, at all levels of health systems. The Global Report calls on government leadership and for decision-makers at all levels of the health sector, to include disability in health systems strengthening efforts at country level.
To support countries in the implementation of the recommendations in the report, WHO is currently developing the Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities – A Guide for Action. The Guide for Action is a strategic planning toolkit that will provide practical guidance on the process that Ministries of Health should undertake to advance health equity for persons with disabilities. The Guide for Action provides detailed guidance on how to integrate disability across health systems strengthening efforts, using a primary health care approach, addressing health inequities faced by persons with disabilities and contributing to health priorities of the country.