Nomineerimine

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ Date: 5 September 2025 REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE Ms Helen Sõber BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L’EUROPE REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA Adviser ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО European Union Affairs and International Co-operation Department Head office: Ministry of Social Affairs UN City, Marmorvej 51, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark Suur-Ameerika 1 Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00; Fax: +45 45 33 70 01 10122 Tallinn Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.who.int/europe Estonia Our reference: Your reference: Notre référence: Votre référence: Unser Zeichen: Ihr Zeichen: См. наш номер: На Ваш номер: Dear Ms Sõber, Technical briefing to WHO European Region Member States: Assistive Technology Repair, Refurbishment, and Recycling Wednesday 8 October 2025 10:00-11:30am CET The WHO Regional Office for Europe is pleased to host a regional virtual technical briefing to support the development and policies and programmes relating to the repair, refurbishment, and recycling of assistive products in your national context. I am delighted to invite you to nominate two representatives from your country to participate in the technical briefing. WHO/Europe is providing technical support to Member States towards integrated, people-centred assistive technology provision. This approach includes access to available, affordable and quality assistive products, whilst considering need to integrate concepts of sustainability into assistive technology systems and policies. The technical briefing will take place on Wednesday 8 October 2025 from 10:00-11:30am Central European Time. Please find the scope and purpose and provisional programme for the event attached. The nominated representatives should be officials from the ministries responsible for assistive technology, ideally those responsible for setting assistive technology policy relating to assistive product repair, refurbishment, and recycling, and should have the capacity to represent their organization and help advance this topic nationally. Presentations will be in English, with simultaneous Russian interpretation. Closed captioning will be available during the briefing. Kindly provide us your two nominations. Please include their names, job titles, organizations, departments and email addresses, at your earliest convenience and no later than 25 September 2025. Thereafter, we shall communicate with them directly and share the necessary documentation and administrative information including the videoconference (Zoom) link to join on the day. Shirin Kiani, Technical Officer, Disability, Assistive Technology, Ear/Eye Care is responsible for this activity and it would be appreciated if you would send your two nominations to Shirin at [email protected] with [email protected] in copy. Sincerely yours, Dr. Natasha Azzopardi Muscat Director, Division of Health Systems WHO Regional Office for Europe UN City, Marmorvej 51 Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00 Email: [email protected] DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø Fax: +45 45 33 70 01 Website: https://www.who.int/europe Denmark Encls: Scope and purpose Provisional Programme Copy for information to: Ms Agne Nettan-Sepp, Head, European Union Affairs and International Co-operation Department, Ministry of Social Affairs, Suur-Ameerika 1, 10129 Tallinn, Estonia H.E. Ms Riia Salsa-Audiffren, Ambassador Representative of the Republic of Estonia, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28A, CH-1209 Genève, Switzerland H.E. Mr Andre Pung, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Estonia, Frederiksgade 19, 4th floor, 1265 Copenhagen K, Denmark Ms Kristina Köhler, Liaison Officer, WHO Country Office, Estonia, Paldiski Road 81, 10617 Tallinn, Estonia –2– WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L'EUROPE WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО Assistive Technology Repair, Refurbishment, and Recycling /1 Technical briefing to WHO European Region Member States Wednesday 8 October 2025 10:00-11:30 CET 1 Sept 2025 Original: English Scope and purpose Background Access to appropriate assistive technology (AT) is essential for enabling participation, independence, and well-being for people with functional difficulties. According to the Global Report on Assistive Technology (GReAT), as many as 1 in 3 people need access to assistive products globally, while only 1 in 10 have access to the products they need.1 Many countries face challenges in ensuring sustainable access to quality assistive products due to limited resources, supply chain disruptions, and market conditions. The principles of repair, refurbishment, and recycling offer a pathway to extend the life cycle of assistive products, reduce waste, and improve affordability and availability. These practices can also support local economies, promote circularity, reduce the environmental footprint of AT provision, and reduce overall cost to the health system. Despite their potential, the practice of repair, refurbishment, and recycling are often underutilized or overlooked altogether due to a lack of policy frameworks, technical guidance, and infrastructure. This briefing aims to raise awareness and build capacity among Member States to integrate repair, refurbishment, and recycling strategies into national AT systems. The WHO Regional Office for Europe provides technical support on the procurement and provision of assistive products in selected Member States. Technical support provided to date has largely focused on policies, including data and AT financing, product standards and 1 World Health Organization, Global Report on Assistive Technology Scope and purpose - Page 1 of 2 specifications, and personnel capacity building for the provision of AT services. Given the significant challenges faced by member states in procurement and access to high quality, appropriate assistive products, there is a clear need for capacity building relating to additional concepts within service provision, notably repair, refurbishment, and recycling of products. Aim This technical briefing aims to support Member States in understanding and applying the principles of repair, refurbishment, and recycling of assistive technology as part of sustainable and inclusive AT systems. Objectives • Introduce the concepts of repair, refurbishment, and recycling of assistive technology and their relative advantages and disadvantages within AT systems • Share country experiences and practical examples of implementing repair, refurbishment, and recycling strategies. • Encourage dialogue on policy, regulatory, and operational considerations for repair, refurbishment, and recycling of assistive products. Date and time One 90-minute technical briefing will be held virtually. The briefing will take place on Wednesday 8 October 2025 from 10:00-11:30 Central European Time. Participants Participants will include representatives from relevant ministries of WHO European Region Member States. Each Member State is invited to nominate up to two participants for the meeting. Participants are likely to be representatives from health and social ministries and to be responsible for assistive technology policy development, and where possible, individuals responsible for repair, reuse, and recycling programs. Languages and accessibility The presentations will be provided in English, and simultaneous Russian interpretation will be provided. Preparatory documents will be available in English and Russian. Closed captioning will be available during the briefing. Scope and purpose - Page 2 of 2 Saatja: "WHO/Europe Assistive Technology Programme" <[email protected]> Saaja: "Helen Sõber - SOM" <[email protected]> Teema: Invite to nominate/ Technical briefing on Assistive Technology Repair, Refurbishment, and Recycling 8 October 2025 10:00-11:30am CET Kuupäev: 2025-09-08 09:09 Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada. Dear National Counterpart, Please find attached nomination letter for your kind attention, noting that the deadline for nomination is 25th September 2025 Thank you and best regards, Health Workforce and Service Delivery Programme WHO Regional Office for Europe Copenhagen, Denmark Web: <https://www.who.int/> www.who.int Follow WHO on <https://www.facebook.com/WHO/> Facebook | <https://twitter.com/WHO> Twitter | <https://www.youtube.com/user/who> YouTube | <https://www.instagram.com/who/> Instagram WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L'EUROPE WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО Assistive Technology Repair, Refurbishment, and Recycling /1 Technical briefing to WHO European Region Member States Wednesday 8 October 2025 10:00-11:30am CET 1 Sept 2025 Original: English Provisional programme Assistive Technology Repair, Refurbishment, and Recycling Wednesday 8 October 2025 10:00-11:30am CET 10:00-10:10 Welcome and objectives Shirin Kiani, Technical Officer Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe 10:10-10:15 Sustainable Health systems: Increasing our Impact while Reducing our Footprint Tomas Zapata, Regional Advisor and Unit Head Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe 10:15-10:25 The transformative power of access to quality assistive technology TBC ATscale, the global partnership for Assistive Technology, hosted by UNOPS 10:25-10:40 Repair, Refurbishment, and Recycling as part of a Sustainable Assistive Technology Ecosystem Emma M. Smith, Technical Specialist Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe 10:40-11:05 National Perspectives on Repair, Refurbishment and Recycling Representatives from WHO Member States Chaired by Shirin Kiani, Technical Officer Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe 11:05-11:30 Questions and closure Shirin Kiani, Technical Officer Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe Provisional programme - Page 1 of 1