From Rehabilitation to Societal Integration

Abstract

There is a growing body of empirical data demonstrating the link between disability and poverty, including a World Bank study of fifteen developing countries, which found that people with disabilities were significantly worse off, were more likely to experience multiple deprivations, and had lower educational attainment and employment rates than non-disabled people). As a result, many are forced into poverty and excluded from day-to-day activities as health-care services, education, employment, transportation, information and technology often remain out of reach. Disability also impacts the individual’s community, as the community must provide socio-economic support to individuals with physical disabilities who do not have the means at their disposal to support themselves.

It is worth underlining again that provision of physical rehabilitation services should not be perceived as an objective in itself but as an essential part in contributing to the full rehabilitation and integration into society of people with disabilities. Enabling a person with a mobility impairment to walk or to move again is, by itself, an important achievement, but only a first step in enabling the person to participate in his or her community, to work and/or access education and to, eventually, reach his or her full potential.

ICRC physical rehabilitation program celebrates in 2019 its 40 anniversary. We would like to celebrate this by showing a short movie as introduction followed by a panel discussion on societal integration.

Statement of the objective / learning objectives

Technology is important but rehabilitation should not stop there, a multidisciplinary cross sector approach is needed to enable social inclusion of PwD, this will also help to boost local economies instead of affecting them negative

This session focuses on the topic Developing Countries.