Islamabad - Federal Minister for National Health Services (NHS) Saira Afzal Tarar, on Tuesday, said that access to assistive technology should be an inherent component of universal health coverage to attain Sustainable Development Goals.
She was addressing the Regional Inter-Country Consultative Meeting on Improving Access to Assistive Technology in the Eastern Mediterranean Region here.
In WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, comprising of 21 countries including Pakistan, approximately 3.2% of the population have been reported to be living with disabilities. It is estimated that 15% of the world population, a total of 1 billion people, live with some form of disability.
Assistive devices and technologies are those whose primary purpose is to maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence to facilitate participation and to enhance overall well-being.
However, according to World Health Organization (WHO) this figure is likely underestimated and prevalence of disability is growing due to ageing population and the increase in non-communicable diseases, road traffic injuries and mental health problems.
Minister said that Pakistan has taken a major step in including disabilities in its Prime Minister’s National Program (PMNHP) that will provide access to facilities and assistive products to all beneficiaries of the program who need them including wheel chairs, crutches, white canes, tripod, quadrupeds sticks and hearing aids.
“Without assistive technology, people in need are often excluded, isolated and locked into poverty, and the burden of morbidity and disability increases,” said the minister.
She said that access to assistive technology should be an inherent component of universal health coverage and needs to be integrated into efforts to attain target 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She said with the conviction that all global and regional initiatives only gain meaning when they are implemented at the country level; the current Regional Inter-Country Meeting is being held.
The main goal is to obtain country perspectives on proposed vision and strategies to ensure the provided guidance is feasible, relevant and can be effectively implemented at the country level in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, minister added.
The two days conference is being attended by national and international experts from Ministries of Health and Social Welfare within the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region as well as international partners. Currently, it is estimated that in low-income and middle-income countries, only 5-15% of people who require assistive devices and technologies have access to them.
Head of WHO Country Office in Pakistan Dr Mohammad Assai said that Pakistan led the preparation of a draft resolution on improving access to assistive technology which was adopted by WHO Executive Board in January 2018 and will become a global resolution during the upcoming 71st World Health Assembly.
At the national level, Pakistan has taken the initiative of undertaking federal and provincial consultations to develop a framework for improving access to assistive technology in the country.
Pakistan is also in the process of undertaking assistive technology needs assessment, based on four pillars of the Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) initiative including service policy, service delivery and training.