Kaori Yamaguchi attends WHO Disability Health Equity Network meeting
Takemi Fellow Kaori Yamaguchi, PhD, OTR, recently attended the WHO Disability Health Equity Network Inaugural Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. She attended as a representative of the Japanese Society of International Rehabilitation.
The network was created following the launch of the WHO Disability Health Equity Initiative in June 2025, which was developed in response to the World Health Assembly Resolution on The Highest Attainable Standard of Health for Persons with Disabilities (WHA74.8, 2021). The initiative seeks to advance health equity for persons with disabilities by addressing the avoidable health gaps that persist between them and the general population.
Globally, 1.3 billion people—one in six—live with a disability, a number expected to rise with population aging and the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Persons with disabilities experience persistent health inequities, including premature mortality and higher risks of comorbid conditions unrelated to the cause of their disability. These inequities stem from avoidable factors both within and beyond the health system (WHO, 2022). To address these issues, the network is advancing four core work areas: building leadership, elevating political priority, promoting disability-inclusive health systems, and strengthening indicators and evidence.
The 2023 UN Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage also explicitly addresses disability health equity, reaffirming the commitment to “leave no one behind” and calling for equitable, disability-inclusive health systems (UN, 2023). Ongoing engagement from academia will be essential to advancing evidence and eliminating health disparities in public and global health.
