Rehabilitation
The World report on disability defines rehabilitation as “a set of measures that assist individuals who experience, or are likely to experience, disability to achieve and maintain optimal functioning in interaction with their environments”. Rehabilitation is an essential first step that empowers persons with disabilities and enables their interaction with other people and participation in different activities including education, work, leisure etc.
Article 26, Habilitation and Rehabilitation, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls for: “... appropriate measures, including through peer support, to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain their maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life”.
Information resources
Recent publications
World report on disability [pdf 10.44Mb] | Summary
Guidelines on community-based rehabilitation
Guidelines on the provision of manual wheelchairs in less-resourced settings [pdf 2.35Mb]
Rehab in review: The Surveillance Journal for Rehabilitation Professionals
Policy documents
Joint position paper on the provision of mobility devices in less resourced settings [pdf 1.45Mb]
WHO Secretariat report: Disability, including prevention, management and rehabilitation [pdf 18Kb]
Links
WHO disability and rehabilitation programme
WHO Regional Office for Africa: Disability and Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia:Disability, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
WHO Regional Office for the Americas: Health of the disabled
United Nations enable homepage: rights and dignity of persons with disabilities