WHO Launches Landmark Global Initiative to Advance Health Equity for Over 1.3 Billion People with Disabilities
In a pivotal step toward realizing global health equity, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially launched the WHO Disability Health Equity Initiative on June 10, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The announcement was made during the 18th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)—an event that drew over 150 in-person participants from government, civil society, academia, and the disability community, with many more attending virtually.
The launch of the WHO Disability Health Equity Initiative marks a milestone in the organization’s commitment to addressing longstanding inequities in healthcare access, outcomes, and representation for the more than 1.3 billion people globally who live with disabilities. It aims to guide governments, health systems, and global health institutions in making disability inclusion a central part of health equity efforts—moving beyond mere rhetoric to tangible, measurable change.
A Vision for Transformational Change
The initiative is grounded in a strong recognition of the structural and systemic failures that have long prevented equitable access to health services for persons with disabilities. In his remarks during the launch, Darryl Barrett, WHO’s Technical Lead on Disability, laid out a sobering assessment of the status quo. He identified major obstacles including political inaction, chronic underinvestment, disjointed efforts, and the exclusion of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations from decision-making processes.
“Health systems are not fit-for-purpose,” Barrett said. “If we agree on ‘Health for All,’ then we must also agree that services must be inclusive and accessible. Right now, we can’t say that with confidence.”
To address these systemic flaws, the WHO initiative is structured around four strategic pillars:
- Leadership by Persons with Disabilities and Their Organizations
Empowering disabled people to lead in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of health policies that directly impact them. - Political Prioritization of Disability-Inclusive Health
Elevating disability inclusion to the highest levels of health policymaking and governance, ensuring it is no longer treated as an afterthought. - Inclusive Health Systems and Service Delivery
Transforming healthcare models to ensure that persons with disabilities can access quality care without facing stigma, physical or digital barriers, or discrimination. - Strengthening Data and Evidence
Building robust disability-disaggregated data systems to inform policy, measure progress, and support accountability.
Barrett emphasized that the WHO’s work in this area has been the result of years of collaboration with diverse stakeholders. “We at WHO haven’t done this by ourselves,” he stated. “The strong presence of partners—both in the room and online—reflects the shared commitment needed to drive meaningful, lasting change.”
Personal Testimonies: The Human Face of Inequity
One of the most powerful moments of the launch event came from David Duncan, a Special Olympics athlete and Chair of the Global Athlete Leadership Council. He shared a heartfelt and deeply personal account of the challenges faced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities when seeking healthcare.
“Invisible, unknown, disrespected… but I know it’s possible to do better – and that’s something everyone deserves,” Duncan said, adding a poignant human dimension to the statistics and frameworks being discussed.
Global Endorsement and National Commitments
The initiative drew widespread support from government leaders and representatives from around the world, who used the occasion to spotlight their own national strategies and affirm their commitment to disability-inclusive health.
- Lubna Jaffery, Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality, called for urgent action to close access gaps. She focused on sexual and reproductive health rights for women with disabilities, universal access to assistive technologies, and emphasized that inclusion must be treated not only as a policy objective but as a core societal principle.
- Malin Ekman-Aldén, Director-General of Sweden’s Agency for Participation, emphasized the human rights imperative behind the WHO initiative. She outlined Sweden’s long-standing investments in inclusive development and said that the initiative would serve as a catalyst for greater accountability and systemic transformation.
- From Australia, Dirk Platzen, Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, introduced the country’s new International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy, reiterating that health is a human right, not a privilege, and political leadership is essential to build inclusive health systems.
- Michael Schloms, representing Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, highlighted the importance of international partnerships, sustainable funding, and the lessons learned from co-hosting the Global Disability Summit. He reaffirmed Germany’s support for the initiative and its alignment with the Amman-Berlin Declaration, a commitment to disability inclusion adopted during the summit.
Civil Society, Academia, and Funding Partners Weigh In
The event also featured crucial contributions from civil society leaders, academia, and global funding institutions, all of whom play an integral role in sustaining momentum and ensuring accountability.
- Ola Abualghaib, Director of the Global Disability Fund, pointed out that the Fund’s new strategy aligns closely with the WHO initiative, and highlighted the importance of long-term, inclusive financing mechanisms.
- Hannah Loryman, Co-Chair of the International Disability and Development Consortium UN Task Force, stressed the value of civil society in advocacy, technical assistance, and monitoring, urging the global health community to formalize partnerships with disabled persons’ organizations.
- Dr. Bonnielin Swenor, Director of the Disability Health Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, called for a fundamental shift in how disability is perceived within healthcare. “We need to move from a mindset of ‘living with a disability’ to ‘thriving with a disability,’” she said. She advocated for more inclusive research, better education of health professionals, and community-centered engagement to drive real progress.
Grassroots Voices Demand Intersectional Action
The floor was then opened to audience members, who raised critical issues ranging from:
- The need for sustainable health system funding, especially in humanitarian settings
- Greater inclusion of Deaf people and those with psychosocial disabilities
- Training health professionals to work with diverse disability needs
- Ensuring digital accessibility in telehealth and e-health platforms
- Expanding support for independent living
These contributions served as a vital reminder that health equity for persons with disabilities is inherently intersectional, encompassing gender, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
A Collective Call to Action
The event concluded with remarks from Jarrod Clyne, Deputy Executive Director of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), who encapsulated the spirit of the day: determination, solidarity, and collective responsibility.
“This initiative offers a pathway to making better choices—choices that ensure dignity, autonomy, and the right to health for all persons with disabilities,” Clyne declared. “We must continue to walk this path together.”
From Launch to Implementation
The launch of the WHO Disability Health Equity Initiative represents not only a conceptual breakthrough but a practical roadmap for transforming how the world delivers healthcare to one of its largest marginalized populations. It will serve as a catalyst for policy reforms, technical guidance, country-level implementation, and multisectoral collaboration.
With the momentum generated by this launch, WHO and its global partners are setting out to ensure that disability inclusion becomes a universal standard, not an exception. As governments, institutions, and communities align with this vision, the hope is that 1.3 billion people with disabilities will no longer be sidelined in global health systems—but will instead stand at the center of a more just, accessible, and equitable future.
