3.1 Right to Health for Persons with Disabilities

Intended Audience: Persons with disabilities, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), Local Governments (especially law enforcement personnel), Local NGOs, International NGOs, International governmental organizations (INGOs), Donor organizations (National, international)

Click here to download a power point version of this lesson to customize for your training purposes.

Please note: Credit should be given to the US International Council on Disabilities and Rehabilitation International.

Important Resources: 

World Report on Disability by World Health Organization & World Bank (2011). First ever world report on disability with comprehensive coverage of health issues. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789240685215_eng.pdf

Leading Change Practices to Improve Health by Management Sciences for Health (MSH). This issue of The Manager focuses on leading changes in practices that improve health. It spells out key success factors for change and presents the five phases of a change process. It offers ways to work with people’s responses to change and provides a change agent’s guide to action to carry out a successful change effort. https://www.msh.org/sites/msh.org/files/v13_n3_en.pdf

Promoting sexual and reproductive health for persons with disabilities by WHO & UNFPA. This guidance note addresses issues of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programming for persons with disabilities. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241598682_eng.pdf

A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities by Hesperian Health Guides. Developed with the participation of women with disabilities in 42 countries, this guide helps women with disabilities to overcome the barriers of social stigma and inadequate care to improve their general health, self-esteem, and independence. http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/

WHO Action Plan 2014-2021 “Better Health for Persons with Disabilities” .The Disability Action Plan outlines measures to assist Member States to align their national health and rehabilitation policies and plans with the CRPD. http://www.who.int/disabilities/policies/actionplan/disability_action_plan_en.pdf

Quality Rights Tool Kit by World Health Organization .Provides countries with practical information and tools for assessing and improving quality and human rights standards in mental health and social care facilities. The Toolkit is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/QualityRights_toolkit/en/

Human Rights Yes! Action and Advocacy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Disability and Development Report: Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with persons with disabilities: https://social.un.org/publications/UN-Flagship-Report-Disability-Final.pdf

Key Learning Objectives in this module:

  1. Provide a brief introduction to the Right to Health
  2. Discuss the current situation related to health for persons with disabilities
  3. Consider some proven leadership and governance practices that can strengthen our role as advocates
  4. Develop a shared vision of success and identify some actions we can take now to improve the right to health in our communities.

Click on the video under the lesson tab (see above) to begin the lesson. Captions are included.