First International World Congress on CBR starts

In a bid to promote Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) as global strategy to address Rights of Persons with Disability (PwDs) and to address isolation of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs, first International World Congress in CBR began here Monday.

More than 1200 delegates from 72 countries are expected to attend this three day Congress on CBR that will conclude on Wednesday. The theme of this Congress is- The key to realizing the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) is the strategy promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a cross-sectoral, human right-based approach to inclusive development. This approach for community development is targeting and involving people with disabilities, their families and their organisations as primary stakeholders.

While interacting with journalists, Etienne Krug, Director, Department of Injuries & Violence Prevention, WHO said, “There are one billion or nearly 15 per cent of world population is of PwDs. PwDs have been neglected for so long, when they have health problem they don’t get treatment, they don’t have access to school and don’t get employment either.”

“We (WHO) work on collecting data on PwDs and also support policies and legislations for the welfare of PwDs. PwDs need access to health services like anybody else and access to other things as well,” he added.
As huge number of people with disability are living across the world and face different set of challenges every day, this International Congress will bring to light the tools to address challenges in setting up CBR initiatives in India.

“This is the new beginning for CBR and it is relevant in the whole world, to reach out to the last person we need to embrace CBR,” said, Poonam Natarajan, Chairperson, National Trust for the welfare of PwDs (Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt of India).

According to the experts, the worst sufferers among all others are children and elderly, therefore there is a need for all the countries and organisations to adopt CBR as strategy.

India has ratified UN Convention of Rights to of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD). Therefore it is now legally bound by the Convention and has to implement it. Moreover, if a person with disability is denied of any human right he can go to court on the basis of UNCRPD.