UHC cannot be achieved if rehabilitation remains neglected. One in three people globally could benefit from rehabilitation, yet many go without it. Services are often excluded from coverage schemes and underprioritized due to insufficient data. UHC monitoring frameworks, including SDG indicator 3.8.1, omit rehabilitation and functioning, undermining visibility and accountability.
In preparation for the 2027 UN High-Level Meeting on UHC, the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, with support from the World Rehabilitation Alliance, calls for the integration of rehabilitation and functioning into UHC commitments and monitoring, to strengthen investment in rehabilitation across care pathways, ensure that health goes beyond reducing mortality and morbidity and enable social participation, inclusion and workforce productivity.