ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology

💯 In case you missed it! In September, during #UNGA79, we hosted a side event for the #SummitOfTheFuture Action Days on the role of partnerships in #Education and #AssistiveTechnology to transform education and employment opportunities for children and young people with disabilities 🦽👓🦻🦿📱 Saima Saleem, Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations focused on our global commitment to achieving SDGs and leaving no one behind thanks to #AssistiveTechnology. 📌Watch the full recording of the UN Summit of the Future side event here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gnutQw4v 👉📚 Read a photo summary of the side event on our website: https://ow.ly/lohE50TGKbK #YouthLead #UnlockTheEveryday #UNGA79

Helen Keller Intl Bangladesh convened a dissemination workshop for the "Building a Pipeline of Countries for Assistive Technology Investments" Project on October 27, 2024. This project is implemented by Helen Keller Intl with the support of USAID in support of ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology and managed by the UNOPS. Throughout the program, the speaker discussed various recommendations and presented assessment findings that will support the provision of continuous support with #assistivetechnologies who are in need.  Respected Additional Secretary Mr. Bijoy Krishna Debnath of the Ministry of Social Welfare was the Chief guest. Special guests included Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare Abu Ali Md. Shazzad Hossain, Director of Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Eye Hospital Prof. Dr. Nahid Ferdousi, and Director of the Jatiyo Protibondhi Unnayan Foundation, Md. Azmul Haque. Aside from them, the workshop was attended by important #MoSW personnel and assistive technology work experts, as well as representatives from AT users, sellers, #WHO, #INGO, #NGO and Helen Keller Intl. The workshop began with a welcome note and objectives by Acting Country Director, Helen Keller Intl, Bangladesh Dr. Md. Mahmudul Hasan. Dr. Afsana Habib Sheuly, Head of Nutrition and Health, presented the project overview and lessons learned. The findings will serve as foundational evidence for policy implications and future studies. A total of more than 50 participants attended the workshop, disseminate the research results by experts and covered on: · Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) study · Assistive Technology Capacity Assessment (ATA-C) · Landscape Situational Analysis · Investment Case · Costing Analysis Chief Guest Mr. Bijoy Krishna Debnath thanked Helen Keller Intl and suggested that recommendations be shared with the Ministry of Social Welfare.

A BIG THANKS to all those who made World Health Summit strategic roundtable a success! Great partnership, great team work! Co-hosted by ATscale, CBM Christian Blind Mission (CBM), the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. and the World Health Organization, this session explored the vital role of assistive technology in addressing today’s public health challenges. An important subject which deserves more attention. #WHS2024

🎬New Film!  #UnlockTheEveryday Times Square Takeover 🎉 📌 This 45 second film shows 📍Times Square on 23 September 2024 as campaigners came together to call on decision-makers, gathered in New York for the #UnitedNations General Assembly, #UNGA79, to prioritize policies that will improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people, including those with disabilities, chronic health conditions, physical impairments, and older people around the world. 💥 Huge billboards in Times Square unveiled a giant eye test, believed to be the largest ever displayed. The eye test transformed into a powerful message: “Need Glasses? one billion people around the world do today”, highlighting one of several life-transforming assistive products campaigners are calling for better access to #AssistiveTechnology! Currently, more than 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive product, such as wheelchairs, prostheses, glasses, hearing aids and digital devices, worldwide – expected to rise to 3.5 billion by 2050 if policymakers continue to neglect the issue and choose not to increase investment. It is low-middle income countries that shoulder the highest burden, with only 10% of people in low-income countries able to access the products they need, leading to hundreds of millions of people today effectively ‘locked-out’ of education and the workforce. 🎞️🔍 Watch the short recap video and catch the power of #UnlockTheEveryday message, broadcasted on the world’s biggest stage, #TimesSquare, NY! 📚 Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/dW3pVRwr 🎥 Watch accessible versions of the short recap with English, Spanish and French audio description on #UnlockTheEveryday Youtube: https://ow.ly/jYON50TT7ai #UnlockTheEveryday #SummitOfTheFuture #UNGA79 UNICEF UNOPS World Health Organization A Leg To Stand On (ALTSO) Global Disability Innovation Hub Walkabout Foundation Momentum Wheels for Humanity Shonaquip Social Enterprise Ugani Prosthetics Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. International Disability Alliance Humanity & Inclusion Participant Assistive Products Mobility Worldwide FCDO Services, Diversability Development Organization Pascal Bijleveld, Anne Wafula Strike MBE, PLY Fernando Botelho, Sara Basson, Google, Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations Irene Mbari-Kirika, CPACC, O.G.W, GMAP, inABLE, Dr Oteri Eme Okolo MBBS, MSc (PHEC) FMCOphth, FWACS, María José Carranza Padilla

#Inclusion is key to realize the promise of the #SDGs but there can not be full inclusion while children and young people are unable to participate & learn, including due to limited access to assistive technology (AT). Many of those who need AT but don’t have it are more likely to be out of school than those who do & commonly do not receive the education they need🦽 We were honoured to speak during the #SummitOfTheFuture Side Event on the role of partnerships in #Education and #AssistiveTechnology to transform education and employment opportunities for children and young people with disabilities #GDIHub #AT2030Programme #YouthLead #UnlockTheEveryday #OurCommonFuture #UNGA79 ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology International Disability Alliance Global Partnership for Education UNICEF UNOPS

💯 In case you missed it! In September, during #UNGA, we hosted a side event during the #SummitOfTheFuture Action Days on the role of partnerships in #Education and #AssistiveTechnology to transform education and employment opportunities for children and young people with disabilities 🦽👓🦻🦿📱 Jorge Moreira da Silva, Under-Secretary General and UNOPS Executive Director spoke about the importance of investing in the future of children and young people for peace, stability and human rights. 📌Watch the full recording of the UN Summit of the Future side event here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gnutQw4v 👉📚 Read a photo summary of the side event on our website: https://ow.ly/lohE50TGKbK #YouthLead #UnlockTheEveryday #UNGA79 #SummitOfTheFuture

📌Transforming lives through Assistive Technology As world leaders came together for the #SummitOfTheFuture, #UNGA79, #UnlockTheEveryday campaign in Times Square was followed by our exclusive reception hosted in partnership with Devex where an impressive line-up of speakers as well as artistic performances highlighted related themes of #Inclusion and #Accessibility! ✨Alongside the performances, we were privileged to display an exclusive exhibition of photographs by Giles Duley MBE entitled Disability and Armed Conflict. Here you can catch some captivating shots from the evening and a glimpse of his powerful work. Giles Duley MBE, CEO of Legacy Of War Foundation, photographer, writer, and presenter also made a powerful speech during the event. In the coming days we’ll be sharing more clips from other speakers so watch this space! 🎉Let’s unlock the everyday for everyone, everywhere! #UnlockTheEveryday #SummitOfTheFuture #UNGA79 ▪️ Image 1: shot in Gaza, 2015. Odai Ali was struck by a fever that left him unable to hear and also affected his physical and intellectual development. On 10 July 2014, due to his deafness he was unable to hear the warning alarms of an Israeli attack, so he didn’t run for cover. A rocket landed near him and the impact left him paralysed. ▪️ Image 2: shot in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, 2017. In 2003 Baraq Qahtan Dharee’s parents stepped on a landmine in Kirkuk, as her father was carrying her. Both parents died and Baraq lost both legs. ▪️ Image 3: shot in Lebanon and France, 2014 - 2019. Aya, 7, has spina bifida, and without access to medical support and suitable living conditions her life in Tripoli was constantly under threat. In June 2016, as part of the UNHCR’s resettlement scheme, the family was relocated to France. Aya is now in school and receiving full support for her medical needs. ▪️ Image 4: shot in Mosul, Iraq. 2018. Yasmine was diagnosed with cancer at age four and, after treatment, seemed to recover. She lived a normal life for a few years, but in 2014 the cancer returned. By then, ISIS had taken control of her city, making healthcare nearly impossible to access. Eventually, after ISIS control ended, Yasmine was taken to a hospital run by an NGO, but her cancer had spread, requiring the amputation of her leg. For children like Yasmine, war not only causes physical harm but also strips away access to basic needs like healthcare.

📌 #Inclusion is key to realize the promise of the #SDGs but there can not be full inclusion while children and young people are unable to participate & learn, including due to limited access to assistive technology (AT). Many of those who need assistive technology but don’t have it are more likely to be out of school than those who do & commonly do not receive the education they need🦽👓🦻🦿📱 I was honoured to speak during the #UNGA #SummitOfTheFuture side event on the role of partnerships in #Education and #AssistiveTechnology to transform education and employment opportunities for children and young people with disabilities 🦽👓🦻🦿📱 📌Watch the full recording of the UN Summit of the Future side event here https://lnkd.in/e75bWkSJ ✴️ Read a photo summary of the side event on ATscale website: 🌐 https://ow.ly/lohE50TGKbK #YouthLead #UnlockTheEveryday #OurCommonFuture #UNGA79 ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology International Disability Alliance Global Partnership for Education Global Disability Innovation Hub UNICEF UNOPS

📌And that’s a wrap on our Themed Week on #Vision for #WorldSightDay  🌎👓 🎉We hope that you got to follow our seven days of stories and other educational content on vision. 👉📚 Have a scroll through our feed in case you missed it! Even though #WorldSightDay 2024 has come to an end, our commitment continues. 💡Upcoming plan to launch! We are excited that ATscale will soon launch a flagship programme in 14 countries where we will screen over  3 million school-aged children in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia to identify those with unaddressed vision and hearing loss.  Over four years, up to 700,000 children will be fitted with eyeglasses and up to 65,000 with hearing aids. We will also train up to 6,000 staff in screening techniques and support the establishment of vision and hearing centers, strengthening in-country expertise and encouraging country ownership. 🎉Let’s unlock the everyday for everyone, everywhere! #UnlockTheEveryday #ATChangesLives #Vision #Eyeglasses #LoveYourEyes #WorldSightDay2024

📌 Themed week on #Vision for #WorldSightDay 🌎👓 Day 6 Learn about #Accessibility and #Inclusion in the workforce and meet Jahanara Begum, a 52-year-old Bangladeshi garment worker who lost her job because of her vision impairment. 👉 VisionSpring human interest story highlights how Jahanara interviewed at 30 factories but was turned down at each for failing the practical sight test of threading a needle. She hid her glasses during interviews in fear that no one would hire her, but without them she couldn’t pass the test. The last time Jahanara was turned down, she broke down in tears at the gate of one of our partner factories. A manager brought her back in to retry the test, this time with her glasses on. Jahanara passed and was hired! VisionSpring routinely finds that 1 out of 3 factory workers is without the eyeglasses they need to see clearly. As they close that gap, they break down the stigma that prevents people from seeking — and wearing — the eyeglasses they need. This story provides important insights into the need for awareness raising about inclusion among employers, and the importance of vision correction for sustaining livelihoods! 🎉Let’s unlock the everyday for everyone, everywhere! #UnlockTheEveryday #ATChangesLives #Vision #Eyeglasses #LoveYourEyes #WorldSightDay2024