Rehabilitiation following lower-limb amputation
Content
1. Organizations/charities providing prostheses/rehabilitation in Africa
2. Training to become a prosthetist in Africa
In Western countries, most healthcare systems offer extensive rehabilitiation programs for amputees. The patients usually stay for several weeks at rehabilitation centers, where multidisciplenary teams help them to learn how to walk with a prosthetic limb.
In Africa, and many other tropical areas of the world, lack of adequate rehabilitation following an amputation is a major challenge. This has enormous financial consequences for the patients, as the loss of a limb often means a loss of income aswell. However, there is hope. The Digital Resource Foundation for the Orthotics and Prosthetics Community has established a database of organizations that can help with prosthetic fitting and rehabilitation! This is a fantastic resource and it is free of charge. It is not only useful for Africa, but lists organizations throughout the world. All you have to do is click on the map of your region and you will find a long list of alternatives. Note that not all organizations are represented in all countries. Note also that not all organizations are listed in the DRFOPC database! It is useful to do a through google search to check what other organizations may be available in your region. There are for example, many church charities providing second-hand prosthetic limbs to people in need.
Figure 1 The Digital Resource Foundation for the Orthotics & Prosthetics Community is an invaluable resource for finding organizations that can help with prosthetic fitting and rehabilitiation in your region. Simply click on the image above and choose the continent where you live, to find the organizations providing services there. These are listed in alphabetical order.Some organizations are limited to a single country only, others are based in several countries. Note that the DRFOPC database does not contain all organizations and charities working with prostheses fitting/rehabilitation- there are many more. Do a thorough google search for your region to find othere relevant resources.
Figure 2 Legs4Africa recycle prosthetic legs that would otherwise end up in landfill and facilitate support groups so amputees in sub-Saharan Africa can live more independent, fulfilled lives. They provide services in many african countries. Click on the image above to get to their website. Paradoxically, they are not listed in the DRFOPC database above.
Figure 2 The Jumping Kids Prosthetic fund provide access to prosthetic equipment and rehabilitative care, education, and sports participation opportunities for children living with lower limb amputations or deficiencies from previously disadvantaged backgrounds (Southern Africa). Click on the image above to get to their website.
Figure 2 The IREDE Foundation provide prosthetic limbs to child amputees from ages 0-18, disability advocacy, support groups for caregivers, and skills development training (Nigeria). Click on the image above to get to their website.
Figure 2 Advantage Africa supports different projects like the Kibwezi Disabled Persons Organization (KDPO) in Kenya. This project enables people with disabilities, including young children, to be properly assessed by qualified medical professionals and, where appropriate, access life-changing corrective surgery or prosthetic limbs. Again, this is just one of hundreds of projects in Africa helping amputees. If you do a thorough search on the internet, you may be surprised how much help is available not far from where you work.
Figure 2 Advantage Africa mentioned above, not only helps amputees on the continent, but has many other projects to help people in need. If you would like to start a project concerning amputees, this organization is good to team up with. Click on the image above to get to their homepage. Credit: AdvantageAfrica.org
Figure 2 You will also find a number of organizations on social media, like Facebook ( Meta). Many of the organizations and charities mentioned previously have social media sites. It is useful to follow these to receive their latest updates. The image above is a screenshot of the Facebook page of the African Amputees Rehabilitation Initiative.
As we have mentioned previously, there are many other organizations and charities in Africa providing help for amputees. Use Google serach terms like "your country" + prostheses" / "prosthetics", "rehabilitation after amputation", " donated prostheses/prosthetics"
A note of caution: As always, there are sometimes organizations that are less serious about what they offer. Their initial intentions may have been good, but greed and other motivations can lead them to put donations and other funds in their own pockets. Unfortunately, this is not as rare as you may think, even when it concerns the people who are most desperate for help. Many of these organizations and charities rely on donors. If you are a donor, make sure to do a backround check about previous projects the organization has done, and that it is transparent where funding goes. You may also want to check with the DRFOPC to ask if they know of any discrepancies concerning an organization or charity. If you are a healthcare provider or a patient in need of a prostheses - if the organization providing this service is asking for a lot of money- go somewhere else!
Training to become a prosthetist in Africa
If you know of someone who is "handy" and is looking for an exciting career that offers many possibilities in Africa? Advise them to consider becoming a prosthetist. Once qualified, the job-opportunities in Africa are endless. You can start a workshop on your own, work at a hospital or rehabilitiation center. You can work together with one of the organizations mentioned above. Whatever you do with that career, you know that you will be changing peoples lives!
There are several centers in Africa, providing training to become a prosthetist. Unfortunately there are not many. We are certain that we have not found all of them on the internet. So if you know of a training institution we have missed, send us an email. Many organizations also offer fellowships to train abroad. If you do a thorough search on Google, we are sure you will get many relevant hits. Use for example serach terms like "prosthetist training" + "funding" + "fellowship/grants".
Figure X The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) is established as a non-governmental organisation in Denmark. One of the areas it focuses on, is achieving good standards at educational institutions through their accredation programme. Several training centers in Africa are accredited by ISPO. One such center is Tumaini University in Tanzania. Click on the image above to get to ISPO`s website where you can read more about this.
Figure X There are several training centers for prosthetists in South Africa. Click on the image above to get to the website for healthworkers careers.co.za, for more information.
Figure X There are also several training centers for prosthetists in Kenya. Click on the image above to get to the website for kenyaeducation.info, for more information.
Figure X The Tanzanian Training Centre for Orthopaedic Technologists (TATCOT) has an excellent reputation! If you click on the upper image, you will be directed straight to the TATCOT homepage. By clicking on the lower image you can read about TATCOT on the ISPO website.
Figure X If you already are a qualified prosthetist and are looking for further training, collaboration, or funding of a project, check out Prosthetika`s website. They have projects all over the world and we are very impressed with their dedication.