A/HRC/40/32 practice can be evidence-based and people with disabilities can influence the use of research,47 and for the purposes of monitoring and accountability. V. Conclusions and recommendations 63. Habilitation and rehabilitation are a set of interventions designed to optimize the functioning of individuals with impairments in interaction with their environment. Their purpose is to contribute to the independence of persons with disabilities and their participation in society. Forms of habilitation and rehabilitation include healthand non-health-related interventions. The fact that habilitation and rehabilitation are contained in a stand-alone article under the Convention increases their visibility as an important strategy for ensuring the participation of persons with disabilities in society. However, achieving maximum functioning is not enough to ensure the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in society, as there are attitudinal and environmental barriers that prevent it. Consequently, habilitation and rehabilitation should not be misinterpreted as the only strategy to achieve that goal. 64. The organization, provision and delivery of comprehensive services that are voluntary, non-discriminatory, available, affordable, accessible, community-based and participatory is consistent with a human rights-based approach to the habilitation and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. Further, habilitation and rehabilitation programmes and services must be tailored to the individual and should include early intervention for children with disabilities. States should ensure the development, availability and provision of assistive products as well as peer support as essential elements of habilitation and rehabilitation services. 65. There is a pressing need to scale up habilitation and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities, particularly in health settings and other relevant contexts such as education and employment. Such efforts should be made as part of broad policies that are inclusive of persons with disabilities and their rights. 66. In implementing the provisions of article 26 of the Convention, it is recommended that States parties should establish or strengthen: (a) A policy and legal framework that provides for comprehensive, highquality habilitation and rehabilitation services that are voluntary and guarantees equal access for persons with disabilities, while promoting a person-centred, rightsbased and participatory approach to rehabilitation that is gender- and age-sensitive; (b) Coordination mechanisms for a comprehensive approach between State agencies in implementing high-quality habilitation and rehabilitation services, given their cross-sectoral nature, including agencies working in the fields of public health, social protection, employment and education; (c) A multidisciplinary and trained habilitation and rehabilitation workforce, requiring adequate training that promotes a person-centred, gender- and age-sensitive perspective and a human rights-based approach to disability; (d) Funding mechanisms to provide equitable and adequate access to habilitation and rehabilitation services through a combination of various proven solutions such as public funding, health insurance, social insurance, public-private partnership for service provision, and reallocation and redistribution of existing resources; (e) Awareness-raising through immediate, effective and appropriate measures, with all campaigns focusing on a human rights-based approach to disability and not framing persons with disabilities as patients or objects of charity and care; (f) Research and the collection of data that is habilitation- and rehabilitation-related, disaggregated by people’s habilitation and rehabilitation 47 16 Ibid., p. 121.