• Approximately 590 million people in Southeast Asia, including India, require rehabilitation services for conditions like low back pain, vision loss, fractures, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

• WHO Regional Director addressed a meeting in July, 2024 to accelerate the provisioning of rehabilitation services across the region, focusing on physical therapy, mental health, and addiction recovery.

• Primary healthcare facilities often lack sufficient rehabilitation services, and there is a significant shortage of healthcare professionals in this field and these gaps need to be addressed.

• The WHO emphasizes integrating basic rehabilitation into routine health services and leveraging technology like telemedicine to extend services to underserved and remote communities.

• Developing a culture of empathy and inclusivity, decreasing stigma, and raising health literacy are all essential to expanding access to rehabilitation treatments.

• Communities must be included, care models must be reoriented, coordination must be strengthened, the staff must be empowered, and an enabling environment must be established.

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