WHO resolution for promoting assistive technologies among the disabled hailed

Under the leadership of Pakistan, 194 member of WHO adopted the Global Resolution on improving access to assistive technologies at a session, held on May 25, 2018.

Dr Mariyum Malik led Pakistan at the WHO assembly session and presented the resolution.

The WHO priority assistive products list includes 50 products, which could help the disabled persons in their mobility, vision, hearing, communication, cognition, and environment.

These assistive products are alarms signalers with light sound/vibration, audio players, braille displays, braille writing, canes/sticks, chair for shower bath or toilets, closed captioning display, club foot braices, community boards, communication software, crutches, deafblind communications, fall detectors, gesture to voice technology, hand rails/grab bars, hearing aids (digital and batteries), hearing loops/FM system, incontienence products,absorbents, magnifiers (digital hand held), orthoses/lower limbs, orthoses(spinal), orthoses upper limb, personal digital assistant, personal emergency alarms system, pill organizers, pressure relief cushions, pressure relief mattresses, protheses lower limb, ramps portable, recorders, rollators, screen readers, simplified mobile phones, spectacles, standing frames adjustable, therapeutic footwear, travel aids portables, tricycles, walking frames, watches, wheelchairs manual for active use, wheelchairs assistant controlled, wheelchairs with postural support, wheelchair electricity powered, and white canes.

Chairperson Society for Special Persons Zahida Hameed expressed pleasure over adoption of the resolution and hoped that the assistive products would be provided to the disabled with cooperation of government and WHO.