한국법제연구원 KLRI

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) announcement in 2020, people with disabilities die up to 20 years earlier than people without disabilities, and in particular, they are at risk of chronic diseases such as asthma, depression, diabetes, obesity, oral disease, and stroke, with the risk rate being up to twice as high. To eliminate the health gap experienced by persons with disabilities, the international community has been standardizing the right to health for persons with disabilities and adopting various recommendations and guidelines to realize these rights.

However, population of people with disabilities have been increasing over the past decade and will continue to increase due to demographic and epidemiological changes. In this situation, it is time to seek ways to improve the health of people with disabilities and reduce the health gap with people without disabilities. To this end, it is necessary to study the norms related to the right to health of people with disabilities stipulated in international norms and frameworks, as well as the WHO's guidelines and recommendations for eliminating health inequalities for people with disabilities.

The purpose of this study is to first understand the recent trends in global norms related to health promotion for persons with disabilities. Through this, we hope to increase understanding of what the international community proposes as normative standards to promote the health of persons with disabilities, and to present a reference point for what efforts each country should make to comply with them as a member of the international community. In addition, through analysis of related policies and norms in the UK, Sweden, the US, and Korea, we will examine what policy and normative efforts these countries are making to promote the health of persons with disabilities.