WCPT pledge in support of the ICRC Health Care in Danger campaign

The World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) is a partner of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) project Health Care in Danger (HCiD) and supports the ICRC to raise awareness of the increasing incidence and impact of violence towards health professionals and facilities in areas affected by violence and conflict.  WCPT believes that physical therapists play a vital role in dealing with the health problems and functional limitations that are the direct consequence of armed violence and the use of landmines and other weapons of war, even in peace times. See WCPT policy statement: The consequences of armed violence, landmines and other weapons of war (http://www.wcpt.org/policy/ps-armed-violence).

WCPT’s own ethical principles expect all physical therapists to respect the rights and dignity of all individuals. [http://www.wcpt.org/ethical-principles]

Action plan

WCPT commits to:

• promote the Ethical Principles of Health Care in Times of Armed Conflict and Other Emergencies and raise awareness of its strategic importance by:
  • producing a WCPT Endorsement of the ICRC HCiD Ethical Principles to raise awareness and extend the call to action among WCPT’s member organisations;
  • promoting the HCiD project via its communication channels;
  • where appropriate, incorporating references to the Principles in WCPT policies and resource material eg on the disaster management area of the WCPT website; and
• continue collaboration with key stakeholders committed to fostering the protection of health professionals and support personnel and the delivery of health services in any situation, not just those affected by armed conflict and disasters.