For the first time, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution specifically dedicated to access to assistive technology, recognizing its fundamental role in guaranteeing autonomy, participation and inclusion for people with disabilities.
The document calls on States to ensure fair, sustainable and affordable access to tools such as wheelchairs, prosthetics, hearing aids, communication devices, screen readers and mobility aids, integrating them into policies on health, education, employment and social protection.
According to Attiva-Mente San Marino, this decision should also serve as a stimulus for the Republic. The association stresses that these tools are not mere aids, but can make a real difference between dependence and autonomy, exclusion and participation.
The UN resolution focuses attention not only on the availability of technology, but on the entire process: needs assessment, personalization, costs, training in use, maintenance and continuity of support. Also central is the direct involvement of people with disabilities in decisions that affect them.
Attiva-Mente also highlights the role of assistive technology in emergency and disaster management, an area on which the association has long been urging greater attention in San Marino.
Building on this, the association proposes launching a review of the San Marino system, checking which tools are currently guaranteed, under what criteria and within what timeframes, which needs still go unmet, and to what extent users are involved in the relevant decisions.
The goal, Attiva-Mente points out, is not simply to have more technology, but to ensure that every person can access the tool best suited to their needs and to their own life plan.
