https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4432-5256
GReAT, but do we care?
If accessible, assistive technology would be life changing for a billion people across the world today – and two billion people in 2050 (WHO, Citation2018). It would make the difference between independence and dependence, inclusion and exclusion, life and death. It holds the potential to improve and transform health, education, livelihood and social participation; fundamental human rights everyone is entitled to. And if we are lucky to grow old, the chances are that we all would use assistive technology by then. But do we care?
More than seventy years ago, people got entitled to medical care and social services necessary for health and well-being, which include assistive technology (OHCHR, Citation2008; UN, Citation1948). But did we care? Nearly thirty years ago, States were explicitly requested to provide assistive technology (UN, Citation1993). Did we care? Fifteen years ago, States were again requested to facilitate access to assistive technology (UN, Citation2006). Did we care? Three years ago, yet again States were requested to improve the access to assistive technology within health and social services (WHO, Citation2018). Do we care this time?
Despite having been on the international agenda for generations, it is estimated that only one in ten people have access to the assistive technology they need (WHO, Citation2018). Is it an insurmountable challenge to improve this situation? No, it is not. As the starting point is very low, every percentage is an important improvement. A far more challenging issue is: Do we care?
There are rays of hope that the third time is a charm. States are increasingly embarking on a journey to develop or strengthen their assistive technology systems. To inspire and support this movement, and in response to the World Health Assembly resolution (WHO, Citation2018), WHO and UNICEF are currently developing the Global Report on Assistive Technology (GReAT) set to be launched in 2022. Based on existing and new evidence, it will provide an overview of the assistive technology scenario in the world and recommend stakeholder-specific actions to improve the access to assistive technology.
The development of GReAT engages numerous countries and a multitude of people across the globe: people participating in surveys of needs for and use of assistive technology; users from all countries in the world expressing what assistive technology means to them; governments reporting their status in relation to the resolution (WHO, Citation2018); as well as experts, policy makers and users developing, discussing and reviewing report contents, leading collection and analyses of data, and guiding the development process.
The papers in this special issue of Assistive Technology were commissioned by WHO and UNICEF to inform the development of GReAT. However, as they constitute significant contributions to this field in themselves, the GDI Hub and UNICEF have sponsored their publication to make them freely available. The eleven papers in this special issue offer several compelling reasons to care about improving the access to assistive technology:
Assistive technology has a positive impact on quality of life of users in all age groups, especially among children; early intervention means a productive life (Botelho, Citation2021b; Hunt, Citation2021).
Emerging and accessible technologies enable more people to truly benefit from assistive technology (Abdi et al., Citation2021; Botelho, Citation2021a).
Assistive technology is cost effective (Albala et al., Citation2021).
Demand for and supply of assistive technology can be estimated (Danemayer et al., Citation2021).
The needs for assistive technology in humanitarian crises must be met (Whittaker et al., Citation2021).
Innovation strategies and processes as well as market shaping can help more people gain access to assistive technology (Holloway et al., Citation2021; Savage et al., Citation2021).
There are many options to finance the provision of assistive technology, and social protection systems can be used as a gateway for access (Cote, Citation2021; Tay-Teo et al., Citation2021).
Developing a global report in a particular field does not happen often. GReAT gives us a window of opportunity to do something for the sake of hundreds of millions of people in our generation who still cannot access basic assistive technology, as well as for coming generations. Aiming for including assistive technology in Universal Health Coverage, we should not stop until everywhere everyone has the assistive technology they need to live life to the fullest. This opportunity lies not only ahead of us – it is already here!
References
- Abdi, S., Kitsara, I., Hawley, M. S., & de Witte, L. (2021). Emerging technologies and their potential for generating new assistive technologies. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S17–S26.
- Albala, S. A., Kasteng, F., Eide, A. H., & Kattel, R. (2021). Scoping review of economic evaluations of assistive technology globally. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S50–S67.
- Botelho, F. H. (2021a). Accessibility to digital technology: Virtual barriers, real opportunities. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S27–S34.
- Botelho, F. H. (2021b). Childhood and assistive technology: Growing with opportunity, developing with technology. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S87–S93.
- Cote, A. (2021). Social protection and access to assistive technology in low- and middle-income countries. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S102–S108.
- Danemayer, J., Boggs, D., Polack, S., Smith, E., Delgado Ramos, V., Battistella, L., & Holloway, C. (2021). Measuring assistive technology supply and demand: A scoping review. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S35–S49.
- Holloway, C., Ramirez, D. Z. M., Bhatnagar, T., Oldfrey, B., Morjaria, P., Moulic, S. G., Ebuenyi, I. D., Barbareschi, G., Meeks, F., Massie, J., Barajas, F. R., Keane, K., Torrens, G. E., Rao, P. V. M., Austin, V., Kattel, R., Metcalf, C. D., & Sujatha, S. (2021). A review of innovation strategies and processes to improve access to assistive technology: Looking ahead to open innovation ecosystems. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S68–S86.
- Hunt, P. F. (2021). Inclusive education: The case for assistive technology. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S94–S101.
- OHCHR. (2008). The right to health [Fact sheet No. 31]. United Nations.
- Savage, M., Albala, S., Seghers, F., Kattel, R., Liao, C., Chaudron, M., & Afdhila, N. (2021). Applying market shaping approaches to increase access to assistive technology. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S124–S135.
- Tay-Teo, K., Bell, D., & Jowett, M. (2021). Financing options for the provision of assistive products. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S109–S123.
- UN. (1948). The universal declaration of human rights.
- UN. (1993). Standard rules on the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities [A/RES/48/96]. United Nations.
- UN. (2006). Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities [A/RES/61/106]. United Nations.
- Whittaker, G., Wood, G. A., Oggero, G., Kett, M., & Lange, K. (2021). Meeting assistive technology needs in humanitarian crises: The current state of provision. Assistive Technology, 33(S1), S3–S16.
- WHO. (2018). Improving access to assistive technology. World Health Organization. WHA 71.8. 71st World Health Assembly.