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Persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, both directly because of infection, and indirectly because of restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus. Persons with disabilities are a diverse group, and the risks, barriers and impacts faced by them will vary in different contexts according to, among other factors, their age, gender identity, type of disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and migration status.

This document presents considerations and actions for the following stakeholders to ensure equity in access to vaccination against COVID‑19 for persons with disabilities:

− Persons with disabilities and their support networks

− Governments

− Health service providers delivering vaccinations

− Organizations of persons with disabilities

− Disability service providers

− Residential institutions and long-term care facilities

− Community

The aim of this research was to assess the outcome of children with ear and hearing disorders 3 years after initial diagnosis, in terms of referral uptake, treatment received and satisfaction with this treatment. It also aimed to assess the social participation of the affected children, specifically, their ability to make friends and communicate needs, and their enrolment at school

752 children had been diagnosed in 2013 as having a hearing impairment and 307 (40.8%) children were traced for follow-up in 2016. 

Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Volume 97, Number 10, October 2019, 645-728

http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.226241

This report makes the case that integrated people-centred eye care is the care model of choice and can help meet the challenges faced. Chapter 1 highlights the critical importance of vision; describes eye conditions that can cause vision impairment and those that typically do not; reviews the main risk factors for eye conditions; defines vision impairment and disability; and explores the impact of vision impairment. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the global magnitude of eye conditions and vision impairment and their distribution. Chapter 3 presents effective promotive preventive, treatment, and rehabilitative strategies to address eye care needs across the life course. Chapter 4 starts by taking stock of global advocacy efforts to date, the progress made in addressing specific eye conditions and vision impairment, and recent scientific and technological advances; it then identifies the remaining challenges facing the field. Chapter 5 describes how making eye care an integral part of universal health care (including developing a package of eye care interventions) can help address some of the challenges faced by countries. Chapter 6 presents IPEC and explains the need for engaging and empowering people and communities, reorienting the model of care based on a strong primary care and the need for coordinating services within and across sectors; and creating an enabling environment. The report ends with five recommendations for action that can be implemented by all countries to improve eye care. 

An Informal Consultation on Stopping Discrimination and Promoting Inclusion of Persons Affected by Leprosy was held in New Delhi from 14 to 16 November 2017. Forty delegates with diverse backgrounds, experience and expertise enriched the discussions. Persons affected by leprosy brought to the table the challenges faced in daily life and suggested actions to be taken to reduce stigma and discrimination related to leprosy. Representatives of national programmes presented actions taken in their respective countries. The participants acknowledged the fact that stigma and discrimination related to leprosy still exists at a significant level. Information about stigma and discrimination related to leprosy needs to be collected in a more systematic manner to assess the magnitude of the problem and to further plan activities to reduce it.

Key recommendations from the consultation included counselling and reporting of incidences of discrimination. Efforts should be continued to inform facts about leprosy to the community.

The participants strongly recommended that leprosy programmes should adopt a ‘rights-based approach’ in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

This fact sheet provides key facts and an overview about autism spectrum disorders. Associated epidemiology, causes, assessment and management, social and economic impacts are briefly covered. The human rights of people with ASD are discussed and the WHO Resolution on autism spectrum disorders (WHA67.8) is introduced.

This manual presents indicators that "capture the difference (Community-Based Rehabilitation) CBR makes in the lives of people with disabilities in the communities where it is implemented. This manual presents these (base and supplementary) indicators and provides simple guidance on collecting the data needed to inform them. The indicators have been developed to show the difference between people living with a disability and their families and those without disabilities in relation to the information reported in the indicators. This comparability provides valuable information to CBR managers, donors and government agencies alike, which can be used to guide decision-making, support advocacy and improve accountability. Further, the ability of the indicators to provide a comparison of the populations of persons with disability to persons without disability aligns with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which states that persons with disability have equal rights to those without disabilities...this manual serves to standardize the monitoring of differences made by in the lives of people with disabilities and their families, making it possible to compare the difference CBR makes across areas and countries. This manual aligns with the WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021, and may also be used to monitor other development plans in an easy and efficient way”