Adhanom opened the second day of the virtual event, with a focus placed on inclusivity.

The WHO official said the organisation is seeking to enhance access to services for people with disabilities.

"Quality rehabilitation and accessibility is inclusion of persons with disabilities in sports and beyond," the WHO director general said.

"WHO is working with countries around the world to increase access to services for people with disabilities as part of every country’s journey toward this universal health coverage."

The second day of the summit coincided with the International Day of Persons with Disability.

Facundo Chavez from United Nations Human Rights delivered a presentation on how transforming the lives of 1.2 billion people must begin in the local community.

Remy Roux, chief executive of the French Development Agency, and Latin American Development Bank official Sergio Diaz Granados outlined their organisations' role in supporting grassroots Para sport and development.

The impact the Paralympic Games have on transforming the lives of persons with disabilities was discussed by Paralympians Liz Johnson from Britain and Husnah Kukundakwe from Uganda, who at 14 was the youngest participant at Tokyo 2020.

"When I was five years old, I realised I was different from others," said Kukundakwe.

"Though self-conscious at first, I soon realised you can’t hide when you are swimming.

"Sport helped me change my life and helped me feel more confident about myself.

"I want to share my story to inspire other kids so they join sport and fight hard to reach the Paralympics.

"I'm thinking of starting an organisation which is already in process which inspires young people to get in to sport.

"I'm actually thinking of starting a series like this on Instagram where I talk about children and sports."

Johnson said sport had been life-changing for her, with the three-time Paralympic medallist commenting that the sporting environment had helped to change societal barriers.

The role of assistive technology in driving social inclusion was also explored in a session moderated by Andy Stevenson.

Vladimir Cuk, executive director of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), brought the summit to a close.

Cuk discussed the Global Disability Summit, which will be held in February 2022.

The summit will be mainly virtual and is expected to mobilise efforts for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The two-day Inclusion Summit was jointly held by the International Paralympic Committee and the World Academy of Sport, with the support of the IDA.

The event was given the theme "Building back better: Sport as a tool to place persons with disabilities at the heart of the inclusion agenda".

Promotion of social inclusion and human rights were two key areas explored, as well as how sport advances the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.