Question 1

How many people have a disability?

Accepted Answer

The WHO World Disability Report 2023 estimates 1.3 billion people — 1 in 6 globally — have a significant disability. The number is growing due to population ageing, NCDs and injuries. 80% of people with disabilities live in LMICs, where they face the greatest health inequities, deepest poverty and most severe barriers to services.

Question 2

What is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

Accepted Answer

The CRPD (2006), ratified by 190 countries, reframes disability from a medical model (disability as a deficiency to be fixed) to a human rights model (disability as diversity that requires accommodation). It requires states to eliminate discrimination, ensure equal access to health, education and employment, and actively promote inclusion. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities monitors implementation.

Question 3

What is the ICF?

Accepted Answer

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is WHO's framework for describing disability — covering body functions, activities and participation, and the environmental factors affecting them. It moves beyond the medical model by recognising that disability is not just about a health condition but about how that condition interacts with the person's environment. ICF is used in clinical assessment, research, policy and social security systems.

Question 4

What health disparities do people with disabilities face?

Accepted Answer

People with disabilities have: two to three times higher rates of depression and anxiety; higher rates of preventable conditions (obesity, diabetes) from barriers to physical activity; poorer nutrition; higher mortality from treatable conditions; higher rates of violence (particularly for women with disabilities); and dramatically lower access to preventive care (cancer screening, immunisation, reproductive health). These disparities are not caused by disability itself but by barriers to healthcare access.

Question 5

What is rehabilitation?

Accepted Answer

Rehabilitation is the set of interventions that help people with or at risk of disability to function optimally in their everyday lives. It includes: physiotherapy (movement, strength, balance); occupational therapy (daily living skills, workplace adaptation); speech and language therapy (communication, swallowing); prosthetics and orthotics; psychological and social support; and community-based rehabilitation. WHO's Rehabilitation 2030 initiative targets universal access to rehabilitation as a health system essential.

Question 6

What is the assistive technology gap?

Accepted Answer

2.5 billion people need at least one assistive product — hearing aids, wheelchairs, glasses, prostheses, communication devices, medication dispensers. Only 1 in 10 has access. The gap is widest in LMICs, where assistive products are unaffordable, unavailable or unsupported. WHO's Global Report on Assistive Technology (2022) calls for inclusion of assistive technology in UHC packages, local manufacturing and trained personnel.

Question 7

Is disability a health issue or a human rights issue?

Accepted Answer

Both — and the distinction is important. The medical model focuses on treating or curing impairments; the human rights model focuses on removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating equally. The CRPD and WHO's current approach recognises that disability is primarily created by environments that are not accessible, services that are not responsive, and social norms that are not inclusive — making it a social determinant of health and a human rights issue requiring structural change.

Question 8

How does disability relate to gender?

Accepted Answer

Women with disabilities face intersecting discrimination — from both gender and disability. They have higher rates of violence (including sexual violence), less access to reproductive health services, lower educational attainment and lower employment rates than men with disabilities or women without disabilities. The CRPD specifically recognises the intersection of disability and gender (Article 6). Disability-inclusive reproductive health services are essential for women with disabilities.

Question 9

What is community-based rehabilitation?

Accepted Answer

Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) — reframed as community-based inclusive development (CBID) — is a strategy promoting the inclusion and rehabilitation of people with disabilities through community-led approaches, rather than institution-based services. It brings together health, education, social and economic development to support people with disabilities and their families in their own communities.

Question 10

What is universal design?

Accepted Answer

Universal design — designing environments, products and systems usable by all people without adaptation — benefits everyone but is essential for people with disabilities. Examples: ramps (benefiting wheelchair users, parents with prams, delivery workers); subtitles (benefiting deaf people, non-native speakers, noisy environments); plain language (benefiting people with intellectual disabilities, children, elderly). Universal design is mandated by the CRPD and increasingly incorporated into building codes and product standards.

Question 11

How does disability intersect with poverty?

Accepted Answer

Disability and poverty are linked bidirectionally: poverty increases the risk of disability (through malnutrition, lack of healthcare, unsafe work and living environments, conflict); and disability increases the risk of poverty (through reduced employment, higher health costs, social exclusion and discrimination). Breaking this cycle requires: disability-inclusive social protection; economic empowerment programmes; accessible education; and elimination of discrimination.

Question 12

How does GMJ News cover disability?

Accepted Answer

GMJ News covers WHO disability reports, CRPD implementation, rehabilitation access, assistive technology policy and disability-inclusive health system development. Disability inclusion is directly relevant to PHIG's accreditation standards — Accreditation Canada frameworks include accessibility and patient rights components — and to the Georgian Medical Journal's health system coverage.

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