January 2023 – December 2025
Walewale, Ghana
Ghana has over 34 million inhabitants, and it is estimated that at least 340,000 people (1% of the population) are in need of rehabilitation services or walking devices each year. There are only 4 rehabilitation centres in the country, including the OTC (Orthopedic Training Center) of Nsawam, which for decades has become the reference point for rehabilitation in Ghana. Most prosthetic services in the country depend on it, and the centre cares for more patients than all other centres combined.
Despite the efforts, more than 80% of the population cannot take advantage of rehabilitation services close to home, especially in the north of the country. For this reason, the OTC decided to build a new rehabilitation centre in Walewale, in the northern region of Ghana, a 13-hour drive from the nearest existing rehabilitation center.
SwissABILITY has supplied the centre with machinery and materials for the manufacture of prosthesis and orthosis. The OTC Walewale Rehabilitation Centre has been inaugurated on January 13, 2024 in the presence of local dignitaries and the entire community of the region, which will now be able to enjoy orthopedic services in a state-of-the-art space.
SwissABILITY is also involved in training local orthopedic technicians in innovative low-cost technologies.
PROJECT SHEET
PHOTO GALLERY
SELECTED BENEFICIARIES
The story of Safia
Safia is 32 years old, lives in northern Ghana, and is a transtibial amputee. She has no stable job, she earns a small income by working occasionally in agriculture. She is married and has two children. She contracted osteomyelitis following an untreated fracture of her right leg, and in 2015 doctors had no choice but to amputate her leg.
She received a Monolimb prosthesis during the training organized by SwissABILITY in July 2023 at the OTC in Nsawam. The Monolimb replaced her previous prosthesis, which was now all but destroyed.
The story of Nanayaw
Nanayaw is 12 years old, lives in Nsawam and is a transtibial amputee. He is a student, loves school and is an only child. Due to a congenital disease he had to have a leg amputated when he was only six years old
She received a Monolimb prosthesis during the training organized by SwissABILITY in July 2023 at the OTC in Nsawam. This Monolimb is his first prosthesis.
