Progress on Rehabilitation 2030 initiatives was highlighted at the 3rd Global Rehabilitation 2030 meeting. The meeting took place, 10-11 July 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland, and online.
World Physiotherapy was represented at the meeting by Mike Landry, president, Jonathon Kruger, chief executive officer, Heidi Kosakowski, head of membership and policy. Alberta Rockson, Africa region executive committee member, who is a co-chair of the World Rehabilitation Alliance emergencies workstream, also attended the meeting. Representatives of a number of World Physiotherapy member organisations also attended online.
The meeting started with an acknowledgement of the resolution, Strengthening rehabilitation in health systems, which was endorsed at the 76th World Health Assembly in May 2023.
As 2030 approaches, the meeting was an opportunity to review progress of the Rehabilitation 2030 Call for Action, and prepare and coordinate for the actions and approach requested by the resolution.
During the meeting, a number of key tools, which WHO and stakeholders have been developing for a number of years, were launched. These tools included:
- WHO policy brief: Strengthening rehabilitation in health emergency preparedness, readiness, response and resilience: policy brief
- WHO Rehabilitation in health financing: Opportunities on the way to Universal Health coverage Financing rehabilitation in health systems
- Package of interventions for rehabilitation
- Guide for Rehabilitation Workforce Evaluation
- Routine health information systems rehabilitation toolkit
World Physiotherapy has been involved in the development of many of these tools. In particular, volunteers sourced through World Physiotherapy regional committees and specialty groups have been critical to the development of the package of interventions. More than 700 experts in rehabilitation from all over the globe have contributed to the development of the Package of interventions for rehabilitation – many of them physiotherapists.
Jonathon Kruger, World Physiotherapy chief executive officer, said: “I have been humbled over the past few years by the willingness of physiotherapists to volunteer their time and expertise to assist WHO in the development of these packages of intervention. The strong physiotherapy presence within these packages is a testament to their commitment to evidence-based practice.”
