ABOUT ISWP
The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) was established in 2015 to address the global need for appropriate wheelchairs and related services. With over 80 million people worldwide requiring wheelchairs for mobility and function, many still lack access to suitable equipment and support.
ISWP aims to professionalize wheelchair services globally, benefiting both wheelchair users and service providers. This will be achieved by promoting the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on providing manual wheelchairs in less-resourced settings, implementing the WHO Wheelchair Provision Guidelines (2023), advancing training and research initiatives, improving wheelchair design and manufacturing, and coordinating services.
Mission
Empower wheelchair users and their families by being the global coordinator of the wheelchair sector.
Vision
Wheelchair users and their families have access to appropriate wheelchairs and services within an empowering and supportive environment .
ISWP was born out of the need for greater coordination in the wheelchair sector in terms of collaboration, product knowledge and testing and training. At ISWP, we focus on improving the quality of lives of wheelchair users, especially those in less-resourced countries, by focusing on 3 pillars:
Advocating for governments to pay for appropriate wheelchairs and services.
Training professionals on assessing and fitting clients with appropriate wheelchairs and training wheelchair users on how to use and maintain their wheelchairs.
Improving the quality of wheelchairs by working with manufacturers, suppliers, and wheelchair technicians to raise the standards.
Story of ISWP
2015
Incubated in University of Pittsburgh
2019
Founding board was set up to start the process to form a separate entity
2023
ISWP started to operate as a separate non-profit organization
2024
ISWP recruited Board of Directors and held its first Annual General Meeting (AGM)
2025
ISWP celebrates 10 years