New Delhi: In the last nine months, around 4,000 people around the world may have regained the ability to walk, thanks to an Indian artificial leg. Soon, the injured in war-ravaged Syria may get the same chance.
As part of 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi, the Ministry of External Affairs had announced that it will organise 12 camps for artificial limb fitments in various countries.
In 2017, the Ministry of External affairs signed an agreement with Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, a Jaipur-based organisation that has been supplying artificial limbs for over 44 years. As per the memorandum of understanding, 12 camps would be organised in 2018-19 worldwide, with plans to fit around 500 to 550 artificial limbs at each event under the ‘India for Humanity’ initiative.
The first one was at Malawi in November 2018, which was inaugurated during the visit of Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu.
The next one in the same month was at Iraq, where over 600 persons were fitted with new limbs. This was followed by further camps in Nepal, Tanzania, Egypt and Vietnam. In total, over 4,000 limbs have been fitted in nine camps in the last nine months.
Commemorating #BapuAt150
In 2019, @BmvssJaipurFoot in collaboration with @MEAIndia has proposed organize artificial limb fitment camp under the ‘India for Humanity’ initiative; to benefit approximately 500 Vietnamese beneficiaries. pic.twitter.com/0Gu0Ns1wId
— Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) May 11, 2019
There are four camps left, one of which will be organised in Syria. The country is still witnessing fighting between rebels and government forces in the northwest.
The seven-year-old conflict in Syria has meant that there are thousands of people who have lost a leg or arm, leaving them physically and financially desolate.
According to a 2017 report of the World Health Organisation, around 2.9 million people are living with disabilities due to the injuries during the ongoing conflict. Further, more than 86,000 of them had to have amputations due to those injuries.
The UN health organisation been procuring and distributing hundreds of limbs to areas around the conflict zone.
The supply of over 500 ‘Jaipur feet’ at a single camp organised by the Indian embassy in Damascus with BMVSS should be a substantial contribution to meeting the huge demand from Syrians living with disabilities.
While the date of the camp has not yet been finalised, it is proposed to be held within the next two months.
Along with Syria, three other countries have also been chosen for these camps – Ethiopia, Namibia and Bangladesh.
While in Iraq and Syria, the injuries are more related to warfare, in other countries, the disabilities have been often been exacerbated due to ignorance or lack of access to healthcare facilities.
Even after the camps are finished, many of those fitted will require additional technical services over the coming months. This has led to some groups associated with the camps to propose extending their services on a more permanent basis.
In Nepal, the Chaudhury Foundation, a charitable organisation of an industrial conglomerate, was involved in organising the Indian-sponsored camps to distribute the artificial limbs procured through BMVSS.
A key takeaway from their camp in January this year at Nawalparasi was the demand for prosthetic limbs in the region, which is located near the southern border with India. Following the camp, Chaudhary Foundation opened a permanent centre at the local community hospital.