International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury has costly consequences for the individual and society, but it is preventable, survivable and need not preclude good health and social inclusion. Ensuring an adequate medical and rehabilitation response, followed by supportive services and accessible environments, can help minimize the disruption to people with spinal cord injury and their families.

The aims of International perspectives on spinal cord injury are to:

• assemble and summarize information on spinal cord injury, in particular the epidemiology, services, interventions and policies that are relevant, together with the lived experience of people with spinal cord injury;
• make recommendations for actions based on this evidence that are consistent with the aspirations for people with disabilities as expressed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The WHO global disability action plan 2014-2021 is a significant step towards achieving health and well-being and human rights for people with disabilities. The action plan was endorsed by WHO Member States in 2014 and calls for them to remove barriers and improve access to health services and programmes; strengthen and extend rehabilitation, assistive devices and support services, and community-based rehabilitation; and enhance collection of relevant and internationally comparable data on disability, and research on disability and related services. Achieving the objectives of the action plan better enables people with disabilities to fulfil their aspirations in all aspects of life.

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