For the second consecutive year, Special Olympics joined a consortium of global health leaders at the World Health Summit (WHS) to highlight the topic of disability inclusion in health and advocate for the needs of persons with disabilities. During the WHS, held in Berlin, Germany, Special Olympics, Clinton Health Access Initiative, the International Disability and Development Consortium, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Missing Billion Initiative, Sightsavers, and the World Health Organization (WHO) came together to organize and co-host a session, entitled "Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities to Achieve Health for All."
Throughout the session, Special Olympics Suriname Health Messenger Rachel Veldkamp described her experiences navigating the healthcare system in Suriname. Rachel shared the stage with the Australian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany; the WHO Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage, Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases; representatives of governments and civil society; and peers with lived experience of disability. In her remarks, Rachel underscored the importance of empowering people with disabilities and the necessity of including people with disabilities in discussions related to their health.
In his closing statement, Jarrod Clyne, Deputy Executive Director of the International Disability Alliance, highlighted that Berlin will host another significant event next year—the Global Disability Summit—and echoed Rachel’s powerful words: “We can do more together than we can do alone.”
Rachel was just one of the self-advocates and individuals with lived experience of disability whom the consortium supported to attend the WHS and give voice to their questions, demands, and stories. Others included Moira Scott, a Special Olympics Ireland Health Messenger; Haben Girma, a disability rights advocate and the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, who moderated the panel; and Smitha Sadasivan, a member of the WHS 2024 Council. Special Olympics is eager to continue our track record of inclusion and collaboration to build momentum and energy around on the issue of health equity for people with disabilities in 2025.
