It was a great pleasure to meet 200 global colleagues at the Global Research, Innovation, and Education in Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit on 3-4 August 2017 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Participants included expert users, global researchers, innovators and educators. Over two days, we discussed service provision, research, education and training; all in relation to assistive technology policy, products, personnel, provision and use. 

Although we all work in very global settings and with different parts of the assistive technology development, supply, research and education ‘chain’, and with very different assistive products, there was a great sense of unity of purpose at the Summit. All pieces of the assistive technology puzzle are needed for the great potential of assistive technology to be appropriately delivered to those who need it. This guiding principle is evident across the 92 Snapshots of scalable assistive technology innovation which were shared at the Summit, and are now available on the WHO website.

The Summit Evaluation results are in: over 50% of participants responded and satisfaction rates exceeded 75% for organisation, logistical support, accessibility, relevance and balance of the programme, and networking opportunities. Participants valued the plenary sessions as well as the breakout groups, and the opportunity for cross-sector learning. The Summit closed to calls for an annual or biannual event, and a commitment from participants to connect regionally to sustain the momentum. Participants unanimously supported the WHO GATE team in further championing the role of assistive technology as a key facilitator of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  Read more in the GREAT Summit Report. 

The GREAT Summit programme and PowerPoint slides from plenary sessions are also available on the WHO website.

The Governments of Pakistan and Ecuador, in partnership with other WHO Member States, have asked for a discussion on improving access to assistive technology to take place at the 142nd session of the WHO Executive Board.  In addition, they have submitted a draft resolution for possible adoption in the Seventy-first World Health Assembly. WHO submitted the Report Improving access to assistive technology to facilitate a meaningful discussion and inform Member States of WHO activities related to assistive technology.

The 64th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean was held in Pakistan in October 2017. During the session, the Government of Pakistan hosted a side event on improving access to assistive technology, during which WHO Member States committed: to include assistive technology within universal health coverage programmes; to hold a Regional assistive technology meeting; to develop a Roadmap for the region on improving access to assistive technology; to collect data on the need and unmet need of assistive technology; and to develop a regional assistive technology resource centre to promote research, innovation and academic programmes.  

Dr Sana Hafeez was in her final year of medical studies when a heavy metal pole fell on her during a wedding party. She sustained a spinal cord injury and within a minute, her whole life changed. Nevertheless, the injury did not stop her from completing her medical studies. With the help of appropriate rehabilitation services and a quality wheelchair, Sana is now working as a doctor at Fauji Foundation Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Sana considers her wheelchair is her strength and not a weakness. Realizing that most people in need of a good quality wheelchair do not have one, Sana soon became an assistive technology advocate within Pakistan. Considering her interest and commitment, WHO has designated her as WHO assistive technology Champion, to work towards improving access to assistive technology globally.

In Beijing, in October 2017, WHO, China Disabled Person’s Federation (CDPF), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Rehabilitation International co-organized an event: “Promoting disability-inclusive development along the Belt and Road”. During the event, WHO introduced its latest activities related to the GATE initiative and also explored the possibilities of working with CDPF and China Assistive Technology and Devices Centre towards inclusion of assistive technology within the China’s Belt and Road initiative. 

On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2017, WHO released two short videos that show the impact of assistive technology for Jody Bell and Babalo Pholose. Jody was born with profound hearing loss and since her childhood she has been using assistive devices in order to live a full and independent life. Babalo had spinal tuberculosis in 2000, and he has been using different type of wheelchairs to go about his daily life and pursue his passion of being a ballroom dancer. 

We are pleased to welcome Giulia Oggero to the GATE team. Giulia has a background in physiotherapy and global health, and has worked in Italy, Bangladesh and China. She will be contributing to the development of the Training in priority assistive products (TAP). TAP will be a series of e-learning modules that will enable health workers to provide priority assistive products at a community level. Empowering health workers and users is a key step to ensure access to assistive technology for everyone, everywhere. Giulia is very excited about this new adventure and is looking forward to turning on the TAP in terms of the assistive technology workforce!