Rehabilitation Service
Rehabilitation is a concept that is widely discussed globally. This is by no means unexpected since over a billion people live with a form of disability. Furthermore, according to a recent report, 1 in 3 individuals worldwide live with the conditions that impact their functions in daily life and would benefit from rehabilitation services.
The proportion of the worldwide population over 60 will double in the next 30 years, the majority of whom will live with chronic diseases, particularly non-communicable diseases. These changing health and demographic trends are contributing to rapid global increases in the number of people experiencing decline in functioning, resulting in enormous unmet rehabilitation needs. Much of these unmet needs are concentrated amongst the poorest and most vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries and conflict-affected settings, which are often ill-equipped to cope with these increasing needs for rehabilitation services.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), rehabilitation is one of the essential components of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which features alongside “promotion of good health, prevention of diseases, treatment and palliative care”. Thus, rehabilitation focuses on achieving functional independence in activities of daily living (ADL), participation in work, recreation and education, with individuals being able to achieve meaningful roles in daily life. Clearly, rehabilitation is pivotal in achieving not only individual health benefits, but an overall universal health goal that permits the building of a healthy and functional global population.