The United States has agreed to provide funding of US$1.4 million to the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) for a three-year project to improve orthotic services for people disabled by unexploded ordnance.
The agreement was signed at a ceremony early this week at the centre by US Ambassador to Laos Ms Karen Stewart and Chairman of the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise and Director General of NRC Dr Thongchan Thepsomphou.The funding will support the development of the Lao Rehabilitation Programme, through the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE).
The funding comes from the USAID Patrick Leahy War Victims Fund. Combined with more than US$427,000 in contributions from the NRC and COPE, the project will commit nearly US$1.85 million to three major intervention areas – identification of appropriate orthotic components, improving current orthotic training and training materials, and building the capacity of an orthopaedic workshop to increase production.
Dr Thongchan thanked the US government and people for assisting Lao people with disabilities to improve their quality of life.
He said the Lao government has cooperated with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) since 1990.
The latest funding contribution will serve to assist people disabled by unexploded ordnance to receive improved services and enhance their living conditions, he added.
Ms Stewart said that the US government and people stand ready to assist Lao people disabled by unexploded ordnance remaining from the Indochina war
The US government is pleased to work with the NRC in collaboration with COPE to help people with disabilities nationwide lead a better life, she added
COPE is a local organisation founded in 1997 that works with the Lao government to develop capacity in the provision of rehabilitation services for disabled citizens.
Under the project, over a period of 36 months, health clinicians based at national and provincial rehabilitation centres will work with orthotic mentors from COPE to develop best practices for the design and prescription of orthotic components, write treatment protocols for best practice approaches to patient services with better data from improved patient feedback and statistical references.
The Patrick Leahy War Victims Fund works with USAID to respond to the needs of civilian victims of conflict in war-affected areas, especially those who have sustained mobility-related injuries from unexploded ordnance, antipersonnel landmines and other direct and indirect causes of disability.
Source: Vientiane Times
By Sisouphan Amphonephong
(Latest Update July 28, 2011)
By Sisouphan Amphonephong
(Latest Update July 28, 2011)
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