WHO Azerbaijan and Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population organized a 4-day training on International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Representatives from WHO Regional Office in Europe and WHO Collaborating Center in Russia attended as technical experts.

The training was attended by nearly 200 participants, including experts of the Medico-Social Expertise and Rehabilitation Agency, Medico-Social Expertise Committees, Rehabilitation Centers under the Ministry and DOST Centers. The training aimed to enhance capacity of relevant experts working in the area of disability assessment, with a particular focus on ICF. 

Dr Hande Harmanci, WHO Representative and Head of Country Office in Azerbaijan delivered opening remarks, commending the government’s intention to implement ICF in the coming years. Mr. Anar Bayramov, Advisor to the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan highlighted the importance of capacity-building in the area of ICF.

ICF is the WHO framework for measuring health and disability at both individual and population levels. ICF was officially endorsed by all 191 WHO Member States in the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly in 2001 (resolution WHA 54.21) as the international standard to describe and measure health and disability. ICF puts emphasis on health and functioning, rather than on disability. This tool aims to measure one’s functioning in society, no matter what the reason for one's impairments. 

Moreover, given that ICF has already been incorporated into the ICD 11 (International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision), this training offers a great opportunity for the national experts to prepare for the new classification.