Prosthetists get a leg up at Mahidol
Mahidol University’s Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics & Orthotics (SSPO) has produced the first batch of Afghan prosthetists and orthotists via its distance learning programme.
Nine Afghan students including two women graduated from the Prosthetics and Orthotics training programme in collaboration with Human Study e.V., a German non-profit organisation, and the Physical Rehabilitation Program of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) designed to help developing countries keep up with the demand for prosthetics. They recently attended degree certificate presentation in Bangkok.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 1.5% of the world’s population is now in need of prosthetic/ orthotic services. However Christian Schlierf, CEO of Human Study e.V., points out that as one of the world’s most mined countries, one of the most prone to natural disasters, and one stricken by violence, this figure is far higher in Afghanistan.
“However, the limited number of specialised training institutions in Afghanistan able to provide training for P&O professionals according to international standards, and enabling them to provide comprehensive quality services, makes the situation even more dramatic,” Mr Schlierf said.
In order to address this issue, Mr Schlierf said his organisation and the ICRC three years ago decided to produce the first batch of prosthetists and orthotists in Afghanistan by supporting nine selected students to enrol in the bachelor programme.
Mahpekay Sidiqy, a newly-graduated prosthetist and orthotist from Kabul in Afghanistan who lost both her legs when she was a child after stepping on a landmine, said the number of people with disabilities is increasing day by day due to the war.
She hopes the knowledge and skills she has learnt from the SSPO to design and produce customised legs, arms, hands and other artificial limbs will help improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in her country.
SSPO director Dr Nisarat Opartkiattikul said the university’s P&O course is the only P&O degree in the world delivered online in combination with on-site activities.