Disability, injury prevention and rehabilitation in the South-East Asia

The WHO South-East Asia Region has supported the member states in its leadership towards disability inclusion, prevention of injuries, promoting rehabilitation and strengthening accessibility to the assistive technology. 

In 2021, as per the Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disability has estimated the global disability prevalence of 16%, which is around 1.3 billion people, have disabilities.  The WHO South-East Region has the third-highest prevalence of disability with 15.6% of the people from the region having severe disability. People with disabilities are vulnerable to stigma and discrimination and can experience limited access to health care, education and employment opportunities. In recent years the Region has experienced a shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to years lost to disability from NCDs and injuries. Injuries are the sixth leading cause of death, responsible for (1675678 deaths) 10%% of all deaths in the Region every year. Road traffic injuries cause almost 900 deaths a day across the Region while drowning causes 70 000 deaths every year. With the Region experiencing a high burden of disability and injuries, improving access to rehabilitation and assistive technology (AT) needs are paramount. 

Vision

Our Vision is to strive for the attainment of the highest possible level of heath for all people in the Southeast Asia Region through disability inclusion, Injury prevention and strengthening Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Services

Our Mission 

• Support that the health facilities and services are inclusive of persons with disabilities 
• Promote Road Safety and strengthen downing prevention and ensure that people in need get quick trauma care services at an affordable cost 
• Accelerate the provisioning of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Services 
• Implement people centred integrated eye and ear health at the primary health care 

Our Values: 

• People Centred:  Services are focused on what are needs of the people
• Integrity:  Respecting the needs of the member states and engaging with everyone honestly and in good faith
• Inclusive: disability inclusive and reaching the unreached and leaving no one behind   
• Professionalism: Professional commitment to serve public health at the best level 
• Evidence based: Promote research and data for evidenced based policy and programmatic interventions 
• Collaboration: Collaborate with governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and other partners in all the work areas
• Impact focused: Focus on results