The Global Report on Assistive Technology of the WHO and UNICEF, published in 2022, has highlighted the challenges that countries worldwide meet in assuring access to assistive technology. Clearly, raising awareness and providing information on AT is just a first step, which has to go hand in hand with market stimulation and the development of provision systems under universal health coverage. These provision systems can only be effective if there are service delivery systems in place that guarantee that solutions meet needs and that public money is spent effectively. But what is an effective service delivery system and which indicators it could use to measure outcomes, including its own? What do we know about the resilience of AT service delivery systems during the pandemic and in other emergency situations and humanitarian crises? How well do these systems cope with the continuous technological and cultural changes that impact on the AT field? Finally, how relevant is it that some emerging countries in AT choose strong social sector involvement in AT provision and what can the health sector learn from an intersectoral approach?

For this session, which will be completed with a high level policy session organised by AAATE and the Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations (GAATO) during the same conference, we are looking for papers from researchers that have reflected on these issues.

Chairs

• Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf (Regional Centre for Assistive Technology of Emilia-Romagna)
• Luc de Witte (The Hague University of Applied Science)

Information: sts06 at aaate2023 dot eu