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Ethical & Sustainable Development Projects in East Africa

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Prosthetics & Orthotics

Summary

Limb amputations are far more common in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) than in High-Income Countries (HICs). Most are caused by trauma as a result of road traffic accidents or conflict. Other common causes include congenital defects, infections and tumours. Having a limb amputated tends to have severe repercussions in LMICs as more people are reliant on physical activity to earn a living (through manual labour, farming, transportation etc.) and there is no social security system to provide support. Additionally, people’s access to prosthetic or orthotic devices is extremely limited due to them being relatively expensive to design, manufacture and maintain.

Activities

Ninsiima’s Story

K4C’s focus on prosthetics and orthotics began in 2017, stimulated by a woman named Ninsiima who was a victim of domestic violence whilst being 8 months pregnant. As a result of the attack, Ninsiima lost both of her arms from the elbow down, however thankfully her baby was delivered successfully with the support of K4C’s midwifery staff and volunteers. At this point, K4C embarked on a project (in partnership with the prosthetics department at the University of Salford) to provide Ninsiima with prosthetic arms to enable her to care of her 5 children and continue to earn a living through chicken farming. A fundraising campaign was setup and the project subsequently featured on BBC World News:

 

 

The Fit-For-Purpose Prosthetics Project

Ninsiima’s story highlighted the challenges faced by amputees in countries like Uganda. This led a team of researchers at the University of Salford to design a project aimed at developing fit-for-purpose, affordable and locally manufactured upper-limb prosthetic devices in Uganda (in partnership with K4C) and Jordan. The project received £1.4M of EPSRC funding and is running from February 2018 through to January 2022. More information on this project can be found on its website (https://www.fit4purposeprosthetics.org)

The Ninsiima Centre for the Rehabilitation of People with Physical Disabilities

Since meeting and working with Ninsiima, K4C has set up the Ninsiima Centre for the Rehabilitation of People with Physical Disabilities in 2022, an intervention in the Orthopaedic Workshop attached to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital (FPRRH), honoured in Ninsiima's name to celebrate her story. The Centre opened in 2022, with the attendance of our collaborators, Legs4Africa, as well as STAND.

Watch the videos below to hear more about the centre, its work and ongoing sustainability efforts.

 

 

Bubble Draping Workshop with Virtual Volunteer Support

In 2021/2022 THET funded two pilot ‘Virtual Volunteering’ projects to trial and evaluate the potential of virtual partnerships between the UK and Uganda:

1) Generating an evidence-based approach to the
management of sepsis through a virtual, multi-professional wound management project.

2) Demonstrating the potential for virtual volunteering in the co-design of assistive technologies and orthopaedic technologies.

These hugely successful pilots enabled the establishment of a Virtual Learning Hub, embedded within the Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, which links us to colleagues all around the world. PhD researcher Claire Horder, midwife, previous volunteer and K4C Trustee, focused on assessing the potential contribution of virtual engagement in health partnerships and the mutual benefits to health systems in low-resource settings and the UK. Claire spent time working in Fort Portal, Uganda, alongside the K4C Uganda team.

Pictured on left: K4C Midwife and Trustee, Clare Horder and Miriam Namtamu, working together at The University of
Salford to lead the Virtual Workshop.

 

Watch the video below to find out more about our K4C Orthopaedic Technicians learning how to Bubble Drape in the process to build prosthetic limbs.

 

Pictured above and below: K4C Orthopaedic Technician Timothy Isingoma and Ministry of Health worker, Margaret, in Fort Portal, Uganda, practising the bubble drape technique following remote guidance from virtual volunteers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured on right and below: K4C Orthopaedic Technician Henry Gizambi Mafabi sanding the prosthetic mould, and checking measurements.