The European Union published its new “EU Global Health Strategy: Better Health for All in a Changing World” on 30th November. The strategy runs up to 2030. EDF welcomes the Strategy as it includes the rights of persons with disabilities in access to health care in the world and refers to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities. This was not the case in the EUs previous strategy.
The strategy aims to improve global health security and deliver better health for all in the world up to 2030. The Strategy positions global health as an essential pillar of EU external policy. The strategy aims to guide EU action for ensuring better preparedness and response to health threats.
EDF and International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) submitted earlier this year a joint position paper to the European Commission’s call for evidence regarding the Strategy.
The strategy requires the EU and its members states to follow a human-rights based approach in implementation of the strategy. Particular attention needs to be paid to the health rights of women, children and young people, persons with disabilities in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Disadvantages groups, such as persons with disabilities need to be prioritised when tackling ill health. Support needs to be given for access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including for persons with disabilities.
We congratulate the EU for including these references to the rights of persons with disabilities and the CRPD in the strategy. When it comes to the implementation of the strategy, we would recommend the EU to
- Continue engaging with civil society, in particular with representative organisations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) at regional and national level in the implementation of the strategy.
- Advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the development of national health strategies.
- Align the implementation of the strategy with CRPD obligations as well as with global commitment to leave no one behind in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the commitments the EU made at the Global Disability Summit and the World Health Assembly Resolution on the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities.
- Ensure that all EU delegations are inclusive of and accessible to all persons with disabilities and include civil society and in particular DPOs in its dialogues with governments of partner countries.
EDFs has also followed closely the work of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) with regards to access to health for persons with disabilities, in particular
- the WHO Resolution on the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities.
- On 2nd December, WHO launches its Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities
Contact
For more information, please contact An-Sofie Leenknecht, EDF Human Rights Coordinator (Ansofie.Leenknecht@edf-feph.org).