Assistive Technology Legislation Around the World: A Brief Overview

Legislation including assistive technology is very important, whether it be just an element of the legislation or if the legislation is specific for addressing a country's assistvie technology needs. Based on a survey conducted by the World Health Organization in 2021, there are 62 countries that have assistive technology (AT) included in legislation, 51 of them having it included under health legislation and 20 having separate legislation on AT [1,2]. Below is the list of the 20 countries with assistive technology specific legislation [2]:  

• Afghanistan 

• Azerbaijan 

• Brazil

• Burkina Faso 

• Croatia 

• Dominican Republic

• Georgia

• Iraq 

• Kenya 

• Malawi 

• Namibia

• North Macedonia

• Portugal 

• Qatar 

• Republic of Korea 

• Republic of Moldova 

• Sri Lanka 

• Tajikistan  

• United Arab Emirates 

• United States of America 

The breakdown by continent is listed below. Please note that the total is 21 due to Azerbaijan being transcontinental between Europe and Asia, as they were counted under both continents.  

• Africa (4)

• Asia (8)

• Europe (6)

• North America (2)

• South America (1)

What can we take away from this list? There are multiple things to be taken away from this list:

While policy is important, it’s not everything for AT

While policy and legislation are a way to solidly the priority and promotion of assistive technology, it’s only one aspect of the AT system, as provisions and products remain essential, and of course people and personnel being the primary focus. Policy helps shift the change in AT systems, whether it be within a state or a country at large. As the World Health Organization's Global Report on Asisstive Technology includes, policies on assistive technolgy need to occur at both local and federal level [1].

More countries need to have AT specific policies to support provisions 

While 62 of the 70 countries surveyed had Assistive Technology (AT) included in some form of legislation, there still remains a relatively small number of countries with AT-specific legislation (20), which can also exclude the provisional aspect of AT. As the WHO also detailed, there are gaps in both provisions and AT workforce [3]. An increase in countries with AT specific policies will better help define, support, and strengthen AT systems for sustainable growth in supporting people with AT needs. To note, there will be another survey completed this year that will be published in 2026; so there will likely already be an increase [1].

There should be a database for all AT related legislation around the world 

A database with accurate and current legislative information from all of the countries with AT-specific legislation would be extremely beneficial to analyze what's occurring around the world. Information should include digitalized versions of the legislative documents (such as in PDF form), applicable resources and websites regarding the legislation, and additional information as deemed necessary. All of this should be organized and presented in an accessible way. Having all of this information housed in one spot would help enhance global awareness and information sharing on AT policy and improve it in a more timely manner.

Sources 

[1]: "Global report on assistive technology" World Health Organization, 2022, https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/354357/9789240049451-eng.pdf?sequence=1.

[2]: “Existence of Legislation on Access to Assistive Technology.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 2021, www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/existence-of-at-least-one-national-legislation-in-place-that-ensure-or-help-improve-access-to-assistive-technology-for-people-in-need.

[3]: “Assistive Technology Data Portal.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 2021, www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/assistivetech.