{"id":6321,"date":"2026-08-28T08:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp2027.world.physio\/?page_id=6321"},"modified":"2026-08-28T08:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:05:07","slug":"fs-17","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp2027.world.physio\/es\/fs-17\/","title":{"rendered":"FS-session-17"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Focused symposium: Strengthening strategic leadership and joint advocacy linking ministries of health and physiotherapy globally (FS-17)<\/div>\n

Moderator:\u00a0<\/strong>Ismaila Kebbie (Sierra Leone)
Speakers: <\/strong>Leslie Angama Mueller (Switzerland), Marcela Ant\u00fanez-Riveros (Chile), Joseph Martial CAPO-CHICHI (Benin)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Learning objectives <\/div>\n\n
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    Analyse how physiotherapists in Ministries of Health influence financing, workforce planning, and rehabilitation integration within health systems.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Evaluate a scalable global leadership and advocacy framework aligned with Rehabilitation 2030 and UHC reforms.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Identify practical strategies to strengthen structured collaboration between government-based leaders, professional associations, and global platforms.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol> <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n

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    Abstract<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n
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    Physiotherapists increasingly occupy strategic technical and leadership roles within Ministries of Health and health systems globally. These positions influence financing frameworks, workforce planning, service delivery design, and rehabilitation integration within universal health coverage (UHC). However, once physiotherapists transition into public service or policy-facing roles, structured engagement with professional associations often diminishes, resulting in reduced policy visibility, fragmented advocacy, and professional isolation.<\/p>\n

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    Despite growing influence, no coordinated global mechanism exists to connect ministry-based physiotherapy leaders, align their work with WHO Rehabilitation 2030, or strengthen collective advocacy across governance levels.<\/p>\n

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    This symposium proposes a system-level innovation: the development of a World Physiotherapy Leadership and Advocacy Platform to connect physiotherapists influencing health policy through MoHs and related leadership roles. Moving beyond association-led advocacy alone, the model embeds coordinated physiotherapy leadership directly within decision-making systems.<\/p>\n

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    The session is grounded in health systems governance theory, policy network theory, and implementation science, recognising that sustained reform requires alignment across governance levels and institutional actors.<\/p>\n

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    Case examples illustrate diverse governance contexts:<\/p>\n