Join us on December 3rd, 2026, at 11:00 am (EST), for the webinar "Health Equity for People with Disabilities: Best Practices in the Region of the Americas" organized by the Pan American Health Organization to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
This session will showcase regional experiences in reducing barriers and strengthening the inclusion of persons with disabilities within health systems. It will also feature the launch of a new course on "Sexual and Reproductive Health and Disability"—to be hosted on the PAHO Virtual Campus for Public Health—designed to build the capacity of health teams and other stakeholders to provide care that is respectful, accessible, comprehensive, and free from discrimination.
The objective of this webinar is to promote regional exchange on strategies and best practices to advance health equity for people with disabilities, strengthening the commitment of Member States and health sector stakeholders to inclusive, accessible, and rights-based health systems.
Specific objectives
- To present best practices promoted by the Ministries of Health of Guatemala, Guyana, and Uruguay to improve the accessibility, inclusion, quality, and equity of health services for people with disabilities.
- Facilitate the exchange of experiences, challenges, enabling factors, and lessons learned among countries in the Region.
- Raise awareness among health authorities, health care teams, and key stakeholders about the importance of incorporating a disability, human rights, gender, and intersectionality perspective into health policies, programs, and services.
- To present and promote enrollment in the PAHO Virtual Public Health Campus course on sexual and reproductive health for people with disabilities.
- To strengthen regional collaboration and peer learning to accelerate the implementation of measures that reduce disability-related health inequities.
How to participate
- DATE: Thursday, 3 December, 2026
- TIME: 11:00 a.m. (Washington, D.C. time or EST) [Check the local time in other cities at the end of this page]
- LANGUAGE: English, Spanish and sign language interpretation
- REGISTER: https://paho-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aasi3MXZRWKzmS0nr1o0bA
Agenda
Soon available
Context
Las personas con discapacidad enfrentan inequidades persistentes en el acceso a servicios de salud integrales, oportunos, asequibles, accesibles y de calidad. Estas inequidades pueden expresarse mediante barreras físicas, comunicacionales, actitudinales, institucionales, económicas y geográficas, así como mediante la falta de información sanitaria accesible, personal de salud capacitado y mecanismos de participación efectiva de las personas con discapacidad en la formulación, implementación y evaluación de las políticas públicas.
La equidad en salud para las personas con discapacidad requiere avanzar hacia sistemas de salud inclusivos, centrados en las personas y organizados a lo largo del curso de vida. Esto implica incorporar la accesibilidad universal, los ajustes razonables, la comunicación accesible, la disponibilidad de tecnologías de apoyo, la formación de los equipos de salud y la recopilación y uso de datos desagregados por discapacidad, entre otras medidas.
En la Región de las Américas, varios países han impulsado experiencias prometedoras para reducir barreras y fortalecer la inclusión de las personas con discapacidad en los sistemas de salud. Guatemala, Guyana y Uruguay representan contextos diversos y ofrecen oportunidades para compartir prácticas, lecciones aprendidas y estrategias aplicables a otros países de la Región. La presentación de estas experiencias permitirá visibilizar avances concretos, promover el aprendizaje entre pares y estimular el diálogo sobre los factores facilitadores, desafíos y próximos pasos para la ampliación de intervenciones efectivas.
Time in other cities
- 8:00 am – Los Angeles,
- 9:00 a.m. – Vancouver.
- 10:00 a.m. - Belmopan, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Managua, San Salvador, San Jose (Costa Rica), Tegucigalpa.
- 11:00 a.m. - Bogotá, Kingston, Lima, Nassau, Ottawa, Panamá City, Quito, Port-au-Prince, Washington D.C.
- 12:00 p.m – Bridgetown, Caracas, Castries, Georgetown, Havana, La Paz, Port of Spain, San Juan, Santo Domingo, Saint George's, Saint John's (Antigua)
- 13.00 p.m. – Asunción, Buenos Aires, Brasilia, Montevideo, Paramaribo, Santiago.
- 5:00 p.m. – Geneva, Madrid.
For other cities, check the time in the following link.