Special Olympics Health Messenger Valentino Vergotine speaks at the World Health Summit 2025 in Berlin

“We need to focus on the invisible – the invisible healthcare challenges and invisible people, like me.”

These are the words of Valentino Vergotine, Special Olympic Games South Africa athlete, Health messengerand board member at the World Health Summit (WHS) 2025 in Berlin.

Open a session with the title “Bridging the disability inclusion gap: how healthcare systems exclude one in six people, and what we can do about it’ Valentino highlighted some of the barriers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face in accessing health care. In 2024, Valentino sought medical attention due to sudden and severe pain that left him unable to perform daily activities and swim. At his local hospital he faced long waiting times, inaccessible information and communication and discrimination.

Unfortunately, this experience was not an isolated experience, but was one of many challenges Valentino faced as he navigated the healthcare systems. He said that while he is looking for health care alone, he will sometimes ask for help with forms. Once when he made this request, the receptionist replied, “What’s the matter with you? How old are you? Can’t you read and write?” which made Valentino feel rejected and disrespected.

On another occasion, a nurse and another patient challenged Valentino for standing in line for older adults and persons with disabilities due to the invisible nature of his disability.

This year’s WHS closely followed the release of Special Olympics’ first global health report, Focusing on the invisible: the overlooked needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actions to strengthen healthcare systems for inclusion. Valentino’s comments highlighted all too common problems in global healthcare systems, including in his home country of South Africa, as profiled in the report, and his experience reinforced the report’s recommendations regarding person-centered care And training of health and care personnel.

His personal experience also informed the comments of other panelists who spoke about the importance of disability integration in healthcare, such as Dr. Tania Rodiger VorwerkDeputy Director General at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Global health, resilience, equal opportunities and Darryl BarrettTechnical Lead for Disability at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Photo by WHS 2025

Dr.Rödiger-Vorwerk said she could agree with Valentino’s comments because she personally has a brother who needs a lot of support. She saw her brother’s experiences with health care systems reflected in Valentino’s stories. As part of the German government, Dr. Rödiger-Vorwerk helped organize the Global Disability Summit, where the “15 percent for the 15 percent” of the Amman-Berlin Declaration pledge to increase the inclusion of disabled people in development aid. Barrett outlined the steps WHO is taking to address the health inequalities faced by people with disabilities, and presented the new Equal Opportunity Initiative in Disability Healthcare.

This was the third consecutive year that Special Olympics, together with a global consortium of organizations including ATScale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, CBM Christian Blind Mission, Humanity & Inclusion, Sightsavers and the World Health Organization, hosted a session on disability inclusion at WHS. Despite filling the space every year, the topic of disability inclusion in healthcare has not moved from the margins to the mainstream, where it should be.

Looking ahead

A gold and silver medalist at 13th^e Special Olympics World Games in Greece (2011) and the 12^e During the 2007 Special Olympics World Games in China, Valentino opened the session with a story about how he started swimming: by disobeying his sister’s instructions to stay in the baby pool. Instead, he opted for the deep end where, according to Valentino, “he jumped down from above… and the lifeguard saved me.”

In health, just like in the pool, no one should have to touch the bottom to be seen. Healthcare systems must be ready to intervene – not just when someone is sinking, but from the start. Special Olympics is committed to helping healthcare systems be better prepared to reach people with IDD.