Domestic Financing for Assistive Technology
Technical report for strengthening access to affordable quality products and services
Globally, 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products. Access to assistive technology and associated services leads to large societal welfare gains, from everyday independence for the individual and supporting family, increasing education and labour force participation, to economic growth and social equity. Through these mechanisms, every dollar spent on assistive technology yields nine dollars in return. Yet access to affordable, high-quality assistive technology is far from meeting the needs, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Affordability is the most common challenge to accessing assistive products globally, with 40 per cent responding ‘cannot afford’ as a barrier to access in the large number of countries surveyed for the WHO-UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology in 2021. The high impact of assistive technology is not recognized enough in public budgets and hence underfunded. Households’ direct out-of-pocket payments are the main funding source for assistive technology, leading to the risk that access is based on ability to pay instead of need. The Global Report on Assistive Technology estimated that the share of users funding their products themselves ranged from 47 to 95 per cent across countries. Large fragmentation in both financing and provision of assistive technology across public and private stakeholders, and unclear priorities by public funding bodies, contribute to inefficient use of resources.
Domestic financing strategy for assistive technology implies identification, design and implementation of the most effective policies to translate societal resources into functional ability for the population. The ability to meet assistive technology needs is driven by two critical levers: (i) resource levels and (ii) effective utilization of available resources through financing mechanisms in a country. This report guides national policymakers, especially in low- and middle-income countries, to take a strategic approach to domestic financing for assistive technology by presenting recommendations through a functional framework including the following three pillars:
- Collecting funds for assistive technology primarily focused on the public sector, noting the criticality of other development partner resources.
- Pooling funds for assistive technology across population groups and utilization purposes for distribution based on need and efficiency.
- Purchasing assistive technology for the best possible impact in the use of these financial resources, including defining which assistive products and services should be funded, for whom, how to pay for these, and at what prices and volumes.
There is no domestic financing strategy that will fit all countries, rather there is a need for a tailored approach to develop a domestic financing strategy for assistive technology that is deeply rooted in the country’s context, needs, resources and ambitions. With well-designed domestic financing strategies aligned with non-governmental partners, collecting funds, pooling and purchasing can become more effective and cross-sectorally coordinated
