Rehabilitation systems worldwide continue to face profound and interconnected challenges- chronic underfunding, critical workforce shortages, and persistent neglect in national policies. These systemic barriers cannot be dismantled through isolated efforts or single-issue campaigns. Meaningful, lasting change requires a coordinated, multilayered approach to advocacy- one that simultaneously empowers individuals, mobilize communities, strengthens institutions, and shapes legislative frameworks. This session explores how such an approach can be built and made effective across diverse contexts and stakeholder groups.

The session opens with the rehabilitation 2030 call to action grounded in the global rehabilitation agenda, presenting key international frameworks that amplifies its relevance, including the sustainable developmental goal, the rehabilitation and assistive technology resolutions, and the positions advanced by the World Rehabilitation Alliance. These initiatives represent a growing international consensus that rehabilitation must be recognized as a core component of universal health coverage and that concerted advocacy at all levels is essential to achieving this vision.

The session then examines how national authorities can meaningfully engage civil society. Attention is given to the value of coordination mechanisms, including rehabilitation working groups that integrate the voices of service users, as well as the importance of sustaining long-term engagement across government ministries. Fragmented, short-term consultations are insufficient, what is needed are inclusive processes that give civil society actors a genuine role in shaping priorities and monitoring outcomes.

A dedicated segment addresses the specific responsibilities and opportunities of physiotherapy associations and broader professional organization. These bodies occupy a unique position in the advocacy ecosystem: they can represent the collective voice of an entire profession, align messaging with other stakeholders, and – where other professional organizations are absent or underrepresented- advocate also on their behalf. Agreeing on shared advocacy positions across professional bodies is presented not as a compromise but as a strategic amplifier of collective influence.

Finally the session addresses the role of international non-governmental organizations and networks in fostering multi-layered advocacy. INGOs can engage in mobilizing and supporting state actors toward formal commitments both at international level- supporting states to engage in presenting resolutions or representing civil society’s voice in consultation mechanisms- and at national level by facilitating interministerial engagements or technical support. Ultimately, they can contribute to the adoption and implementation of national strategies in alignment with global commitments, engage in monitoring and accountability mechanism, supporting national level actors in speaking with a unified voice also at the international level.

Across those different levels of advocacy, user’s voice plays a central role. It is paramount to build the capacity of service users and communities to raise their own voices, ensuring that advocacy is not only conducted on behalf of people with rehabilitation needs, but increasingly led by them. This can be achieved by empowering users to self-advocate for their rights. By joining representative organizations, sharing personal stories with policymakers, attending public consultations, or connecting with peer networks, individuals influence policies and challenge barriers. Empowered rehabilitation users who advocate for themselves and others become agents of meaningful, lasting reform in rehabilitation systems.

1. WHO rehabilitation call for action, 2018.

2. ReLAB-HS, Using the World Health Assembly Resolution as a tool to strengthen local and national advocacy for rehabilitation; guidance note for in-country advocates. 2023.

3. WRA case study on Chile. 2026.

4. Handicap International. The power of evidence: how HI uses data to drive policy change and combat disinformation; 2026.

5. WHO- Africa Regional Rehabilitation Strategy. 2025