Content » Vol 50, Issue 4

Special report

Responding to the World Health Organization Global Disability Action Plan in Egypt: A Technical Consultancy to develop a National Disability, Health and Rehabilitation Plan

Christoph Gutenbrunner, Boya Nugraha
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Coordination Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, DE-30625 Hannover, Germany. E-mail: gutenbrunner.christoph@mh-hannover.de
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2307

Abstract

Objective: A technical consultation to develop a National Disability, Health and Rehabilitation Plan (NDHRP) for Egypt was carried out in 2015. Its overall goal was to improve health, functioning, well-being, quality of life, and participation of persons with disability in Egypt by supporting the Ministry of Health and Population and other stakeholders to improve access to health services and strengthen health-related rehabilitation services for all persons in need.
Methods: The methodological steps of the technical consultation were as follows: collecting and reviewing accessible documents and data; site visits to state institutions, health and rehabilitation services; discussions with relevant stakeholders in rehabilitation, including persons with disability; drafting recommendations based on the principles of the World Report on Disability and the World Health Organization Global Disability Action Plan and the information collected; discussion with stakeholders in a workshop; and preparation of a final report.
Results and discussion: The development of a NDHRP was successful and led to recommendations with a good level of consensus among stakeholders in Egypt. The authors hope that the NDHRP will lead to improved rehabilitation service provision, and health and quality of life of persons with disability and chronic health conditions living in Egypt.

Lay Abstract

In 2015, a technical consultancy mission to develop a National Disability, Health and Rehabilitation Plan (NDHRP) for Egypt was done. Its overall goal was to improve health, functioning, well-being quality of life and participation of persons with disability in Egypt by supporting the Ministry of Health and Population and other stakeholders to improve access to health services and to strengthen health-related rehabilitation services for all persons in need. The mission was done following methodological steps: collecting and reviewing accessible documents and data, site visits to states institutions, health and rehabilitation services as well as discussions with different parties in rehabilitation including persons with disabilities. A list of recommendations and projects to improve the situation was drafted based on the basis of the principles of the World Report on Disability and the WHO Global Disability Action Plan and the collected information, as well as a discussion with stakeholders in a workshop. The final report was written as NDHRP. We hope that the NDHRP has some effects on improving rehabilitation service provision and health and quality of life of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions living in Egypt.

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