Lusaka – African health ministers today adopted a crucial regional strategy to strengthen and fully integrate rehabilitation services into public health systems across the region by 2035.

More than 210 million Africans require rehabilitation, which is a set of health services for people with conditions such as developmental disorders, road traffic and unintentional injuries, or mental health issues. However, around two out of three people who need rehabilitation do not have access to the required care, and where available, the services are inadequate, qualified professionals scare and coverage insufficient, particularly at the primary health care and community levels.

The Regional Rehabilitation Strategy 2025–2035, endorsed by the ministers meeting for the Seventy-fifth session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa in Lusaka, Zambia, aims for 60% of the countries to have national rehabilitation plan and a dedicated budget, and that 60% of primary health facilities integrate rehabilitation as part of essential health services.

To achieve the goals, the strategy calls on ministers to lead reforms in the health sector; allocate domestic funds for personnel and infrastructure; train the workforce; include data on rehabilitation on national health surveys; and expand access to services among other measures.

The strategy is to ensure that rehabilitation is prioritized as an essential health service. Rehabilitation can significantly contribute to cost savings across the health sector by supporting timely discharge from inpatient care, lowering the risk and severity of secondary complications, and reducing the use of expensive treatments, with benefits for individuals, communities and the health care system.