Community-Based Rehabilitation

The past five years has seen CBR stakeholders work collaboratively to produce these CBR Guidelines, which build upon key recommendations made in 2003 at the International Consultation to Review Community-based Rehabilitation in Helsinki, and in 2004 in the ILO, UNESCO, WHO joint position paper on CBR. The guidelines promote CBR as a strategy which can contribute to implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and of disability inclusive national legislation, and which can support community-based inclusive development.

The guidelines provide CBR managers, among others, with practical suggestions of how to develop or strengthen CBR programs and ensure people with disabilities and their family members are able to access the benefits of the health, education, livelihood and social sectors. The guidelines have a strong focus on empowerment through facilitation of the inclusion and participation of disabled people, their family members, and communities in all development and decision-making processes.

The World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC), notably the CBR taskforce members—CBM, Handicap International, the Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO), Light for the World, the Norwegian Association of Disabled and Sightsavers--have worked closely together to develop this document. In addition, more than 180 individuals and nearly 300 organizations mostly from low-income countries around the world have been involved. We extend our sincere thanks to all for their valuable support and contributions.

The guidelines are presented in eight separate booklets:
Booklet 1 - the Introduction: provides an overview of disability, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the development of CBR, and the CBR matrix. The Management chapter: provides an overview of the management cycle as it relates to the development and strengthening of CBR programs.
Booklets 2-6 - each booklet examines one of the five components (health, education, livelihood, social, and empowerment) of the CBR matrix.
Booklet 7 - the Supplementary booklet: covers four specific issues i.e. HIV/AIDS, mental health, leprosy, and disasters, which have historically been overlooked by CBR programs.