National First Forum on Disability and Rehabilitation

Ulaanbaatar, 19 October, 2012 – The National First Forum on Disability and Rehabilitation was successfully conducting at Mongolian Governmental Palace On 19 October 2012. The Minister of Health, Dr N. Udval, the Vice Minister of Education and Science, Ms B. Urgamaltsetseg, the State Secretary of Population Development and Social Protection, Ms B. Otgonjargal, the State Secretary of Health Dr J. Khatanbaatar, and WHO representative Dr Wiwat and many other officials attended and made opening remarks.
In Mongolia, people with disabilities have poorer health outcomes, lower education achievements, less economic participation and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities.
Effective health plans on disability including rehabilitation gain from multi-sectoral approaches as well as partnership with participation of all stakeholders – including governments, civil society organizations and disabled people’s organizations – to create enabling environments, develop rehabilitation and support services, ensure adequate social protection, create inclusive policies and programmes and enforce new and existing standards and legislations to the benefit of people with disabilities and the wider community.
Rehabilitation services are delivered at all levels of health care services. However, there are weak linkages between community-based rehabilitation and tertiary level rehabilitation services. To improve this situation, WHO Mongolia has been collaboratively working with the Ministry of Health and the Millennium Challenge Account’s Mongolia Health Project to establish a model for stroke rehabilitation service in selected tertiary hospitals and linking it to community based rehabilitation programme. .
WHO has been providing technical and financial support to the Government of Mongolia to endorse and introduce International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This classification defines disability as activity limitations, impairments, and participation restrictions; and it will help to address discrepancy in the existing data on disabled people from different sources.