Manual Wheelchairs - World Health Organization

5.1 Introduction
Purpose and outputs
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The purpose of the policy and planning guidelines is to develop and implement policies for costeffective
and sustainable wheelchair provision. Implementation of these guidelines will lead to:
• develop a national wheelchair policy;
• plan wheelchair provision programmes at national level in collaboration with all stakeholders,
based on identified needs;
• integrate wheelchair services into existing health and rehabilitation services;
• develop national standards for wheelchair provision;
• calculate costs and establish sources of funding; and
• link wheelchair provision with existing sectors and institutions in society.
Stakeholders and resources
• Stakeholders involved in policy and planning include policy-makers, planners and implementers,
manufacturers and suppliers of wheelchairs, providers of wheelchair services, disabled people’s
organizations and users.
5.2 Policy
5.2.1 Developing a policy
A national policy on wheelchair provision can ensure that users receive wheelchairs that meet
minimum requirements for safety, strength and durability and that are appropriate for their
individual needs. A national policy can also ensure that wheelchairs are provided by trained
personnel who know how to properly assess users’ needs and how to train users and caregivers on
how to use and care for the wheelchairs.
When developing a national policy, it is recommended that the following areas are considered:
• issues addressed by relevant international policies (see Section 5.2.2);
• design, supply, service delivery, training and user involvement (see Section 5.2.3);
• funding (see Section 5.4); and
• links with other sectors (see Section 5.5).
To avoid a separate policy for wheelchair provision, wheelchairs can be included in a general policy
for provision of assistive devices. However, specific issues related to wheelchair provision may need
to be addressed in additional policy documents.
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