The Rights to Health and Rehabilitation

The CRPD makes certain guarantees to people with disabilities as part of their right to the highest attainable standard of health, including the right to a range of healthcare services of adequate quality as close as possible to their communities and the right to means of rehabilitation with the purpose of enabling them to participate fully in their communities. People with disabilities are entitled to health services needed specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and intervention as appropriate.[243]

The CRPD also guarantees people with disabilities access to rehabilitation services based on a “multidisciplinary assessment” of peoples’ needs and geared toward their participation in their communities. The government is obligated to promote not only the availability of assistive devices but also “knowledge and use of assistive devices and technologies, designed for persons with disabilities” and to “promote the development of initial and continuing training for professionals and staff working in habilitation and rehabilitation services.”[244]