World Health Organisation (WHO)

CBM Christian Blind Mission is a non-state actor that has had official relations with the World Health Organisation since 1989. Our collaboration covers various thematic areas such as:

CBM has been working with WHO for many years to ensure the development of high-quality global tools and standards to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities in the poorest communities.
In the past, our collaboration has focused on the development, launch and implementation of the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Guidelines, the development of the INCLUDE CBR online training and the CBR monitoring and evaluation toolkit "Capturing the difference we make". We are currently working with WHO on the Rehabilitation2030 process to ensure that quality rehabilitation becomes part of universal health coverage.
We are also part of the review process for the WHO Global Report on Health Equity for Persons With Disabilities.

CBM initiated the advocacy and support process in 2014 that led to Resolution WHA70.13 on the prevention of deafness and hearing loss, which was unanimously adopted in 2017.

One of the requests to the Director-General WHO was to produce a World Report on Hearing (WRH), which was published on 3 March 2021 with CBM support in shaping the format and content, together with WHO expert working groups. CBM submitted case studies and examples for specific sections of the WRH, reporting on EHC partners' experiences and collaboration with governments.

CBM's Senior Global Advisor for EHC co-chairs the World Hearing Forum's working group on monitoring WRH and Resolution WHA70.13 (R&R Core Team). CBM technical advisors contribute to several WHO technical working groups and to the promotion and support of WRH and the broader EHC agenda through meetings, webinars, lectures, newsletters, articles, events and the use of WHO resources at partner and country levels.

As a member of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), CBM has collaborated with the Sensory Functioning, Disability and Rehabilitation Division of WHO in the development of the World Report on Vision.
CBM also works with the regional offices of WHO and, in collaboration with IAPB, helps plan eye health programmes that implement the recommendations of the World Report on Vision.