Accessibility
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted its first-ever resolution on Access to Assistive Technology, a landmark step towards recognising assistive technology as a fundamental right and a nessential part of inclusive, sustainable development. For Sport Access Foundation, it reinforces a simple truth: the right equipment and support can be the difference between watching from the sidelines and playing, competing and belonging.
Adopted on 2 September 2026 during the 80th UN General Assembly session, the resolution was presented by Pakistan and co-sponsored by more than 40 Member States. It establishes access to assistive technology as a global priority for sustainable development and universal health coverage, and affirms that it is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Assistive technology includes far more than wheelchairs and hearing aids. It covers the products, systems and services people need to access them, from prosthetics, eyeglasses and mobility aids to digital applications, communication devices and sport-specific adaptive equipment.
The need is enormous. The WHO and UNICEF’s 2022 Global Report on Assistive Technology found that more than 2.5 billion people worldwide need at least one assistive product, a figure expected to reach 3.5billion by 2050. Yet access remains deeply unequal: fewer than 10 per cent of people who need assistive products in low-income countries can access them, compared with 90 per cent in high-income countries.
For children and young people with disability, these gaps are not abstract. A sports wheelchair, modified equipment, communication device, prosthesis or accessible technology can determine whether a young person can train safely, join a local club, travel to competition, or pursue a pathway towards elite sport. Sport Access Foundation exists to help remove those cost barriers, providing grants for children and young people with disability so they can participate in sport.
The resolution was drafted and negotiated by Counsellor Saima Saleem, Pakistan’s first visually impaired career diplomat at the United Nations and an assistive technology user herself. Her lived experience brought a powerful perspective to the negotiations: assistive technology is not simply equipment, it is access to education, employment, independence and full participation in community life.
That principle applies equally on the sporting field. When young people have the right equipment and support, they gain more than the ability to play. They build confidence, connection, health, skills and a sense of belonging.
The resolution urges governments to take a coordinated,multi-sectoral approach by embedding assistive technology across health, education, employment, social protection and humanitarian systems. Key priorities include
ATscale CEO Pascal Bijleveld described the resolution as “a powerful statement of international solidarity”, saying assistive technology is “not a luxury; it is a right and an economic necessity”. He called on governments, civil society and the private sector to work together to scale up access and investment.
For the sport sector, the message is clear: inclusion cannot rely on goodwill alone. Clubs, sporting organisations, governments and funders need to treat adaptive and assistive equipment, accessible facilities, trained coaches and sustainable funding as core parts of an inclusive sporting system.
Sport Access Foundation welcomes this global milestone. It strengthens the case for continued investment in the equipment, services and opportunities that allow every young Australian with disability to play, compete and belong.
The resolution provides a new advocacy tool for organisations working to improve access to assistive technology, including insport. It encourages countries to develop and review national priority assistive product lists, allocate appropriate budgets, and strengthen the systems that make access possible.
Most importantly, it signals a growing global consensus: assistive technology should be universally accessible. For young athletes with disability, that means a future where the right support is not an exception oran extra cost, but a normal part of participating in sport.
Credit: https://atscalepartnership.org/news-stories/un-general-assembly-adopts-landmark-resolution-access-assistive-technology
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Your donation will go towards providing financial assistance and support to enable children with a disability to participate in sporting activities. Every dollar goes direct to the grant recipients to help with the cost of their sport, including modified equipment, carer costs, transport and fees.
