The 22nd Rehabilitation International World Congress

What a wonderful experience it was to have been able to participate in the 22nd Rehabilitation International World Congress in Incheon, South Korea. The opening ceremonies began with a special appearance from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the Convention Hall was captivated by his inspirational words and the notion of moving forward in the rights for persons with disabilities (PWDs).  The conference covered several different areas of interest, all related to disability and rehabilitation as well as focusing on its impact on several vulnerable populations. 

I had the privilege to speak on the Disaster Management panel of the conference. The purpose of my presentation was to highlight a project that emerged in response to the Haiti earthquake on January 12th, 2010. This project utilizes local, pre-existing expertise and infrastructure to build local capacity and decentralize services, resulting in the creation of a long-term, sustainable rehabilitation and community reintegration program for persons with spinal cord injuries.

When asked during my panel what St. Boniface Hospital does that has an impact on disaster preparedness and risk management for PWDs, my immediate response was that we do so much through community education and outreach. In the developing world, due to the lack of available services, the responsibility falls into the arms of the family members as well as the community. St. Boniface hospital has a wonderful community health program where community workers are trained in prevention, implementation of protocols, identifying at-risk situations and ensuring the people are able to access services.

The conference brought together professionals from all across the world to collaborate and discuss issues and solutions on disability and rehabilitation. Several documents, guidelines and individual research papers were presented and analyzed with best-practice results aimed at enhancing quality of care as well as highlighting additional areas of concern. The topic of disaster risk and response was focused on immensely, especially as we are in the wake of worldwide disasters that have caused substantial damage and devastation. Experts in disaster response met to discuss recent natural and man-made disasters and the lessons as well as trends that have emerged. The essential take-home message was that even in developed countries, we are currently not doing enough for better disaster preparedness and planning, especially for the vulnerable populations.

I do believe that “disability” is a direct result of environmental and social barriers and that accessibility is key in eliminating a person’s disability. For example, the creation of a ramp, widening a door frame or even placing an elevator to enable access to the 2nd floor of a building are just some basic examples of environmental modifications that can allow access for a wheelchair user. Another example is one that applies to myself personally. Someone that has problems with their eyesight would be considered disabled if they did not have access to appropriate eyewear. Enhanced technologies have allowed for vision correction that permits someone who is visually impaired to use a quick and convenient solution that prevents them from having a visual impairment/disability.

Disability rights and issues are everyone’s concern, and we should all be involved in the fight for equal rights and opportunities for our fellow human beings and ourselves. Everyone should have a fair chance at living their lives to their fullest. Our goals should be to promote prevention strategies and preparedness, decrease barriers in accessibility, and create opportunities for vulnerable populations. It is essential to ensure that it is the voices of persons with disabilities that are involved step-by-step in the decision-making and implementation process.