Policy paper

World Health Organization

Updated 7 August 2018

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

Form for submitting commitments for the Global Disability Summit 2018

IMPORTANT: Please refer to the accompanying guidance note for advice on completing this form and please fill in all four sections in English.

Your organisation:

Type of organisation: Multilateral Organisation

If other:

Name of organisation World Health Organization

Charter for Change

Please read the attached Summit Charter for Change: the principal legacy of the Summit. If your organisation is happy to sign up to the Charter, please confirm by putting a cross in the box below.

My organisation signs up to the Summit Charter for Change ☒

Your organisation’s commitments to achieve the rights of people with disabilities in developing countries:

Commitments to eliminate Stigma and Discrimination

Please select the category which your commitment most relates to: Other

Please enter the exact wording of the commitment/s, including details of others who has supported its development (75 words limit):

WHO commits to develop guidance and support countries to address the negative attitudes and practises towards people with psychosocial, cognitive and intellectual disabilities and to put in place mental health and related polices, plans, laws and services that are compliant with the CRPD. This commitment is in line with the Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2020.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan (75 words limit):

• Develop guidance for CRPD compliant policy & laws related to mental health
• Implement capacity building tools to change negative attitudes & practices towards people with psychosocial, intellectual & cognitive disabilities
• Provide best practices for community-based mental health services in line with CRPD
• Strengthen dialogue & linkages with national & international DPOs & seek active engagement for all WHO QualityRights resources & actions. Timeframe: 2018 - 2023

Please copy and paste this box for additional commitments under this theme.

Commitments for Technology and Innovation

Please select the category which your commitment most relates to: Join Global Partnership for Assistive Technology

Please enter the exact wording of the commitment/s, including details of others who have supported its development (75 words limit):

At the Seventy-first World Health Assembly, Member States unanimously passed a resolution to improve access to assistive technology. The Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) initiative of WHO has already developed a GATE community consisting of 1084 individual/organization members, including international organizations, donor agencies, professional organizations, academic institutions and user groups. This community and WHO are available for the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology to improve access to high-quality, affordable, assistive products for everyone, everywhere.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan (75 words limit)

In partnership; especially with the involvement of user groups including disabled peoples’ organizations, WHO will develop the first Global Report on Access to Assistive Technology in 2021. WHO will submit a global status report on access to assistive technology every four years until 2030. WHO will collect data, develop the training packages, involve in market shaping of priority assistive products and support countries to develop policies and programmes for appropriate sustainable assistive technology service provision.

Please copy and paste this box for additional commitments under this theme.

Commitments for Data Disaggregation

Please select the category which your commitment most relates to:

Commit resources to support strengthened disability data

Please enter the exact wording of the commitment/s, including details of others who have supported its development (75 words limit):

In line with the WHO Global disability action plan 2014-2021, which was endorsed by Member States in 2014, and to ensure measurement of progress towards the SDGs and Universal Health Coverage, WHO will:

• support Member States to integrate the brief Model Disability Survey (MDS) in existing population-based surveys,
• support Member States to conduct the full version of the MDS,
• build country capacity to generate and use data to design appropriate policies.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan (75 words limit)

As outlined in Objective 3 of the WHO Global disability action plan 2014-2021. Timeframe: 2018-2021.

Please copy and paste this box for additional commitments under this theme.

Commitments for people with disabilities in Humanitarian Contexts

Please enter the exact wording of the commitment/s, including details of others who has supported its development (75 words limit):

WHO commits to include in its humanitarian response measures health-related actions that are required to ensure that both mainstream and specific support are available and accessible to people with disabilities in emergencies. This commitment is in line with the WHO Guidance Note on Disability and Emergency Risk Management for Health.

Timeframe and/or implementation plan (75 words limit)

WHO will work with its offices in countries with humanitarian crises to ensure the inclusion of specific measures for people with disabilities in the country response plans.

Please copy and paste this box for additional commitments under this theme.