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Prosthetics Outreach Foundation (POF) is pleased to announce a new partnership to help restore mobility to children and adult amputees in the West African country of Liberia. The program is a collaboration with the International Orthopedic Rehabilitation Organization (IORO) Center in Johnsonville, Liberia.
ABOUT LIBERIA
Liberia underwent a brutal civil war spanning 14 years, from 1989 through 2003. During this conflict, many Liberian civilians lost their limbs to forced amputations by rebels, often by machete.
The country’s limited medical facilities also sustained severe damage during the civil war. Many communities lack even basic infrastructure, including rudimentary health services. According to the United States Agency for International Development, there are only 122 doctors in the country, of which 51 are Liberian, representing 1 doctor for every 28,000 people. Half of the trained health workforce was displaced or fled the country during the war. Only 41% of Liberians have access to health care, and 80% of this care is delivered through emergency NGO relief programs. Not surprisingly, GDP per capita is among the lowest in Africa, and life expectancy for Liberian women is only 43 years; for men, it is a mere 40 years.
Currently only three prosthetics & orthotics workshops struggle to meet the orthopedic needs of 3.5 million people. This includes approximately 3,500 amputees. Additionally, an estimated 350 babies are born each year with clubfoot, and there are many other people with untreated mobility-related conditions.
SPREADING BENEFITS
POF has operated a highly successful prosthetics program in neighboring Sierra Leone since 2006. “We’re especially excited about the fact that, with the Liberia program, one West African country, Sierra Leone, is helping another African country, Liberia. The local prosthetist who operates POF’s program in Sierra Leone, Mr. Bambino Suma, just completed his first technical assistance visit to Liberia. He evaluated the infrastructure needs of the Liberian prosthetics workshop and provided supplemental clinical training for the Liberian staff. We look forward to working with IORO to ensure that amputees in Liberia enjoy lifetime mobility, too, so that they can rebuild their lives, sustain their families, and participate in the reconstruction of their communities” says POF Executive Director Winfried Danke.
Together, POF and IORO will assist with improving access to quality prosthetics and orthotics services in Liberia. Specifically, POF will provide technical consulting and funding to IORO to make urgently needed infrastructure improvements, expand prosthetics and other orthopedic rehabilitation
services, for example, through the introduction of mobile outreach services to amputees living in rural areas, and encourage IORO collaboration with other physical rehabilitation centers in Liberia.
As a first step, POF seeks to help the IORO workshop in Liberia to transition from lamination of prosthetic sockets to the fabrication of sockets using polypropylene (PP) materials, the global standard. PP sockets are substantially lighter, more durable, and can be adjusted more easily to achieve a comfortable fit of the artificial limb. Says POF Director of Programs, Raymond Pye, “This will be a significant improvement for the amputees in their daily lives.”
ABOUT POF
The Prosthetics Outreach Foundation (POF) creates opportunities for children and adults in developing countries who suffer from limb loss and limb deformities to lead more fulfilling lives. POF provides access to prosthetics, orthopedic surgery, physical rehabilitation, and non-medical assistance, such as micro-lending. From its headquarters in Seattle, WA, POF has helped over 15,000 people in developing countries walk again since 1989.
ABOUT IORO
The International Orthopedic Rehabilitation Organization for Isolated Disabled People (IORO)is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing rehabilitation to the isolated disabled people of the world. Founded in 2007, the organization is headquartered in Plymouth, MN. Website: http://www.ioro.org |
