A review of assistive product prices in 12 countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimate that over 2.5 billion people need assistive technology, yet access remains limited. In response to this pressing need, WHO has maintained, since 2016, a Priority Assistive Products List (APL) with 50 priority assistive products. In 2024, an update was launched to revise and expand the list based on new evidence and stakeholder input. This paper presents the price review component of the update. The review consisted of collecting global price data and classifying assistive products into price ranges to support the decision-making process for the updated APL.

From an initial list of 300 products prioritized by the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Assistive Technology, 120 products were selected for the price collection by domain experts. Twelve countries, representing a range of income levels and geographic regions, were chosen for data collection. Focal points in each country gathered the lowest prices for the selected assistive products. The collected price data was then used to classify the products into five Gross Domestic Product-standardized price ranges.

Focal points from all 12 countries submitted price data to varying extents. In eight countries, the data covered over 75% of products, whereas in the remaining four countries, the coverage was below 50%, as focal points faced challenges such as limited supplier access or time constraints. The collected data provided insights into the affordability of assistive products across countries and product categories.

The price analysis contributed essential evidence to the APL update and highlighted global disparities in affordability of assistive products. The data showed an inverse relationship between national income level and affordability, where the lower the income, the greater the financial burden assistive products represent.