A/HRC/40/32 3. Availability and affordability 41. Habilitation and rehabilitation services in all rehabilitation disciplines as well as assistive products should be made available in adequate quantities to fully meet existing needs. In many countries, there continue to be serious gaps in the provision of rehabilitation services, including concerning the availability of professionals. 27 In addition, persons requiring certain types of rehabilitation can be further disadvantaged because specific services are underrepresented.28 42. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has repeatedly highlighted the lack of certain types of rehabilitation services, such as recovery-oriented and community-based rehabilitation services for persons with psychosocial disabilities (CRPD/C/POL/CO/1, para. 24; and CRPD/C/MKD/CO/1, para. 26), rehabilitation support in places of detention (CRPD/C/POL/CO/1, para. 27), rehabilitation services for women and girls with disabilities exposed to gender-based violence (CRPD/C/BGR/CO/1, para. 38; and CRPD/C/PHL/CO/1, para. 31), and medical rehabilitation for persons with disabilities, in particular those with chronic, genetic and rare diseases (CRPD/C/BGR/CO/1, para. 54). 43. In their strategic planning, allocation of funding, professional training and procurement policies, States must ensure that rehabilitation services and assistive products are available for a broad spectrum of persons with disabilities. They should also ensure their equitable geographic distribution so that rural or remote communities are not excluded. States must adopt a gender-sensitive approach to developing and implementing rehabilitation programmes, as women and girls with disabilities often face additional barriers in accessing rehabilitation services and assistive products. 29 44. Rehabilitation services and assistive technologies and devices should be affordable to persons with disabilities, who often face higher living costs in general. Universal health coverage should include access to essential rehabilitation services and assistive technologies and devices. States should use the WHO “Priority assistive products list” to guide their procurement. States should legally ensure that health insurance covers essential rehabilitation for persons with disabilities. In Slovenia, for example, access to assistive devices and their maintenance are covered by the national compulsory health insurance system. In Ireland, persons with disabilities may be eligible for a medical card that gives access to free assistive products and community care services, among other entitlements. 45. Digital technologies can help to make home-based rehabilitation more available and affordable. The Internet has been used to provide a wide range of rehabilitation services, including psychosocial support and counselling, speech and language therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, and remote assessments to provide home modification services. 30 The Internet also facilitates the creation and operation of peer support groups, which in themselves are an effective solution to address both the costs and the availability of certain categories of rehabilitation. However, the use of digital technologies must also respect the right of persons with disabilities to privacy as set out under article 22 (2) of the Convention, under which States parties are required to protect the privacy of personal, health and rehabilitation information of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others. 4. Accessibility and access to rehabilitation in the community 46. States should ensure that all rehabilitation services and health-care services and programmes are fully accessible to persons with disabilities, whether they are delivered publicly or privately.31 This includes accessible infrastructure, equipment and information 27 28 29 30 31 Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with Persons with Disabilities: UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2018. Available from www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/publication-disability-sdgs.html. For example, physical therapies tend to be more commonly available than other interventions, such as speech and language therapy. See also A/73/161, para. 24. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls with disabilities, para. 57. WHO, World Report on Disability (Geneva, 2011), p. 119. A/HRC/34/58, paras. 51–52; see also A/73/161, paras. 56–57. 11