The ATscale Partnership
ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology...
The ATscale Partnership
ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, is seeking an intern to join its team in assisting with a wide range of daily operations and first catalytic initiatives of its initial strategic phase. This new role provides a unique opportunity to be a part of the team that is building and moving forward a multi-stakeholder partnership to address one of the most significant and most underinvested issues of our global development agenda – the need for assistive technology (AT).
Today, over 2.5 billion people need at least one form of AT, such as wheelchairs, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, but 90% do not have access to the AT they require. The number of people who need AT is expected to grow to more than 3.4 billion people by 2050.
Access to appropriate AT enables people with loss of function, disabilities, non-communicable diseases, and the aging population to participate in education, work, family, and community life. Lack of access to AT has significant consequences for individuals, their families, and the wider society. Without AT, individuals may experience isolation and exclusion from education, the labor market, and civic life. Lack of access to appropriate AT causes poorer health outcomes including premature death, deteriorating mental health, and increased risk of chronic health conditions and secondary complications, all of which lead to a higher burden on health systems. Increasing accessibility and affordability of AT unlocks unrealised economic potential and provides socioeconomic benefit for individuals, families, and countries by increasing productivity and participation in the workforce.
ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, was developed in response to the need for a new, catalytic approach to overcoming the significant gap in access to appropriate, high-quality, and affordable AT globally. It is a cross-sector partnership for AT that aims to bring greater resources and strategic focus to this significant global challenge with the goal of reaching 500 million more people with life-changing assistive technology (AT) by 2030, to enable a lifetime of potential.
The secretariat of the ATscale Partnership is hosted by UNOPS and it is located in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information please visit https://atscalepartnership.org/ .