WHO awarding global honours to Ontario Tech rehab centre at ceremony in Oshawa

Global healthcare will shine its spotlight on Oshawa and Ontario Tech University Friday morning when the school’s Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research is officially inaugurated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Rehabilitation and Musculoskeletal Health.

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland – also the MP for nearby Ajax – and Dr. Pierre Côté, who leads the institute and is also the director for the WHO centre, will be joined at the ceremony by WHO Technical Lead (Rehabilitation) Dr. Antony Duttine, who is making the trip from Geneva, Switzerland.

The ceremony will take place at Shawenjigewining Hall’s fourth floor collaborating space from 10:50 a.m. to noon.

The disability and rehabilitation centre was awarded the designation by WHO in August, an honour Ontario Tech University President Dr. Steven Murphy called “historic,” adding that it showcases the university’s global standing in health research.

The designation comes with WHO declaring that nearly one-third of the planet’s 8.1-billion people live with a health condition that could benefit from rehabilitation, such as back pain and arthritis, with many people in those circumstances unable to access the essential health interventions they need.

“We need concerted efforts to develop a global response to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal conditions by building research capacity and collecting data in the field of rehabilitation,” said Côté, adding that the designation by WHO will help promote the advancement and integration of rehabilitation (as part of universal health coverage), “to address unmet needs and help people independently participate in everyday activities like work, education and recreation.”

WHO Collaborating Centres are institutions such as research institutes and universities or academies which are designated by the WHO Director-General to carry out activities in support of WHO’s programs. Approved centres must meet strict criteria.

Over the next four years, the centre will support the WHO in strengthening research in rehabilitation science, provide the agency with technical advice, and develop training and education initiatives.