Support to Nkolo Orthopaedics Rehabilitation Services

In Uganda, 12.4 percent of the population lives with some form of disability, 50 percent of whom are under 15 years old. There is no firm data on the number of people with disabilities living without one or more limbs, but polio, traffic accidents, bone infections, malaria, congenital diseases, and malnutrition can be listed among the main causes [1].

Although the country is considered stable from a legislative point of view, the reality is very different: just think that in the local language “Luganda” there is no specific term to define a disabled person and that in 2015 the European Parliament condemned the country for murders and violence committed against people with disabilities. Furthermore, the Ugandan public health system does not have adequate prosthetic services both in terms of personnel and material resources such as equipment and prosthetic components. The provision of rehabilitation services is limited and almost absent in rural regions [2].

For this reason, SwissABILITY wants to support the Ugandan rehabilitation system to enable the most vulnerable people to return to an independent and dignified life. SwissABILITY supports local partner Nkolo Orthopaedics Rehabilitation Services (NORS) so that more people with disabilities can receive appropriate rehabilitation services. The NORS is an excellent rehabilitation center that offers a range of outstanding rehabilitation services at subsidized prices to more than 600 patients per year (divided among orthopedic center, physical therapy and occupational therapy patients) and produces more than 300 prostheses and orthoses each year.

It was founded by orthopedic technician Nelson Mubiru, the current technical director of the center and vice-president of the Uganda Orthopedic Technology Association. The center also employs an administrative director, a financial manager, an orthopedic technician, an orthopedic student who volunteers, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and a nurse.

SwissABILITY supplied Nkolo Orthopaedics Rehabilitation Services with new machinery and materials for the manufacture of prosthetics and orthotics, as well as materials and equipment for physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

In addition, SwissABILITY organized a training for local orthopedic technicians in innovative and low-cost technologies. The goal is to provide new skills and knowledge to professionals and contributing to the donation of prosthetics to the amputees in the country.

PROJECT SHEET