| | From the President and Secretary General WCPT representatives were busy in the week of the World Health Assembly in Geneva this month. Not only were we participating in discussions on disability during the main assembly, we were also involved in the launch of the World Health Professions Alliance statement on collaborative practice and meeting with the WHO Disability and Rehabilitation Team and its partner organisations. The issue of disability is now taking more of a centre stage with global health bodies such as WHO, and this is good news for physical therapy as well as good news for people with disabilities. As statements of good intentions on improving access evolve into global action plans, WCPT will continue to do all it can to raise our profession's profile with the world's health decision-makers, and ensure that the expertise of physical therapists is utilised. Kind regards, Marilyn Moffat and Brenda J Myers If you would like to use all or part of this E-letter for your own newsletters/websites then please feel free. We need your assistance to reach the profession around the world, so please send this e-update to your members. World Health Assembly addresses NCDs The World Health Assembly – the decision-making body of the World Health Organization – held its 66th meeting in Geneva on 20th-28 May. Discussions covered non communicable disease (NCDs), mental health, ageing and disability. The NCD Alliance has produced an informative summary of events, with links to speeches, reports and resolutions. Go to bit.ly/1aDNfxC WHPA statement on collaborative practice In a major new statement, WCPT, as part of the World Health Professions Alliance, is calling for a new emphasis on collaborative practice. Working together leads to improved health services and reduced costs, it says. Go to bit.ly/12RaIIN WCPT speaks on disability at WHA WCPT presented a statement to the World Health Assembly on 22nd May, supporting a resolution endorsing the recommendations of the World Report on Disability and calling on the WHO and its member states to ensure equal access to health services for persons with disabilities. WCPT said that national programmes promoting physical activity had to meet the needs of all people, including those with disabilities. Read the full story at www.wcpt.org/node/100678 The WHO has produced an infographic on better health for people with disabilities, based on information in the World Report on Disability. Go to www.who.int/disabilities/infographic/en/index.html The World Health Organization has published World Health Statistics 2013, its annual compilation of health-related data from 194 Member States. It includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets. Go to bit.ly/12jXR6Q New road injury resources from WHO WHO, the FIA Foundation, the Global Road Safety Partnership and the World Bank have released a new manual on pedestrian road safety, aimed at decision-makers and practitioners. It provides information on risk factors for pedestrian death and injury and how to implement and evaluate effective interventions. bit.ly/10CcMpP WHO has also launched the Global Alliance of Care of the Injured – a network of organisations including professional and non-governmental organisations – working internationally to improve care for the injured across pre-hospital care, hospital care and rehabilitation. Every year, over five million people die from road traffic crashes, violence, burns, falls, and other causes of injury. Go to bit.ly/ZvFWIJ New international work and study group online WCPT has launched a new discussion forum for physical therapists interested in volunteering, working, studying or carrying out research outside their own country. The international work and study forum can be accessed from the "Discussion forum" button towards the top of WCPT's Facebook page. Go to www.wcpt.org/node/100626 The Third World Health Professions Regulation Conference will be held in Geneva, Switzerland on 17th-18th May 2014. Organised by the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) of which WCPT is a part, the conference will provide participants with insights, perspectives and discussion on current challenges in health professional regulation. It aims to evaluate the challenges facing health professional regulation and identify best practice in regulatory governance and performance. Go to www.whpa.org/whpcr2014/ The International Association for Physical Therapists working with Older People (IPTOP) has published a new set of Standards for Clinical Practice. They have been produced for physical therapist clinicians practising with older people as a supplement to standards published by national professional bodies and WCPT's guideline for standards of physical therapy practice. The standards are intended to provide guidance for physical therapists practising with older people in countries where specialist clinical networks in this field are developing, or do not yet exist. Contact secretary@iptop.wcpt.org Guidelines conference in August The Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) will be holding its 10th G-I-N Conference in San Francisco, USA, on 18th-21st August 2013. G-I-N is a global network of 86 organisations and 107 individual members representing 44 countries. It supports evidence-based health care and improved health outcomes by reducing variations throughout the world. Go to www.g-i-n.net/events/10th-conference INFORMATIONIf you are unable to access our website using the links within this email, you may need to copy and paste the hyperlinks directly into your internet browser. If you have problems reading this email please follow the link below for help. www.wcpt.org/eupdate | | | |
