WHO calls for accelerating action to bridge gaps in rehabilitative and assistive technology services amid growing demand

Today’s feature notice from the WHO has urged countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region to increase access to such important services of rehabilitation and assistive technologies to improve the quality of life and integration of the population. 
 
“Rehabilitation services include all those important elements of care that are outside of medicines, for example, physiotherapy after trauma, psychotherapy after stroke or alcohol dependence…These are not just medical interventions, these are about rebuilding people’s lives and their ability to look forward and participate in society” noted Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia on the occasion of the ‘Regional Meeting on Acceleration of Access to Rehabilitation in She again stressed on the concerned fact and said that “The trend of the last 20 year shows that the need for rehabilitation is rising in the South-East Asia region and it will augment further in the coming years because of the aggravation of conditions related with ageing and NCDs. 
 
Almost 590 million of the Region’s population needs rehabilitation. The highest demand is for a particular treatment of complaints like low back pain, poor vision, fractures, and chronic obstructive pulmonary complaint. 
 
Rehabilitation is defined as a process of enhancing individuals’ health and quality of life through the use of specific interventions that include a modification of environment for those who have various health issues. 
 
Clearly, first level health care centres are grossly under-equipped as far as rehabilitation is concerned and compensation packages for services remain very meager. Also, there is a large scarcity of the personnel in this field of health care. 
 
To find and promote new opportunities in the region, the Regional Director emphasized the importance of adding basic rehabilitation into the spectrum of traditional health services, as well as the need to extend the innovative models of care to achieve the principles of equity for people from peripheral regions. 
 
“Awareness must be created and promoted at the people and community levels and people must be empowered, and the need for improving the demand for, or rehabilitation goods and services including assistive products must be boosted,” Ms Wazed added. 
 
It establishes that, consistently with human rights standards, persons with disabilities are subjected to increased risks and inequalities during PHEs and across multiple domains. There is a combination of higher chances of living in poverty, having risk factors of developing NCDs and poor access to relevant health services. 
 
Therefore, building up or situating the human resource available in the rehabilitation is essential along with labelling the gaps in the workforce. It should be delivered in conjunction with NCDs and Mental Health, Ageing well, Humanitarian and Crisis and Health Emergencies and Disability inclusion in various sectors, added Ms Wazed. 
 
Governance and the data also need enhancement; however, monitoring structures are supposed to be in place. Improving financial risk protection, adapting the concepts of telemedicine, using mobile health applications and wearable devices may help to eliminate the issues of distance and cost in rendering rehabilitation to various populations and areas. 
 
During the present actualistic three-day regional meeting for Asia-Pacific nations, officials, program managers, rehabilitation specialists, academics and tutors of medical institutions, international partners, and non-government organizations, measures and models of rehabilitation and assistive devices will be debated and discussed along with country cases, experiences, and prospects. They will also assist in solidifying the ‘Framework on Provisioning Rehabilitation Services in the Region’, that has the objective of directing Member countries to improve on these key essential services. 
 
Terming this as a historic chance to change health, wellbeing, and ability to earn a living especially for persons who are marginalized and left behind /for disability, injury and mental health, Ms Wazed urged that stigma associated with disability, injury and mental health difficulties must end. “Thus, with the focus on a culture of respect and acceptance, we can develop a society in which people will be willing to turn to specialists for help without any prejudice or stigmatization And, thereby reduce the enormous, unfair, and continually increasing expenses for the rehabilitation service throughout all the countries of the Region to enhance the sustainable social and economic development,” the Regional Director summarized.