Deafblindness is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions in the medical practice. Deafblind people are certified according to non-standardised indicators or based on each authority’s criteria. This situation allows a wide range of discriminatory practices affecting deafblind people worldwide.
The development of an international standard following the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (theWorld Health Organization WHO‘s framework to measure health and disability on an individual and population level) seems the right way to standardise the diagnosis.
In the last 4 years, we have developed research at a global level. The results of these investigations were agreed upon in a conference of experts from around the world in October 2024. In this consensus conference, 21 deafblindness professionals from all over the world met to discuss and decide on the final set of indicators presented to WHO.