9 Jun 2011

40 limbs fitted in Fiji campaign of Indian NGO

3:21 pm on 9 June 2011

A team of specialists from India has fitted more than 40 prosthetic limbs in its first three days in Fiji.

The team from the NGO Jaipur Foot is spending a month in the country to make and fit limbs for 300 amputees.

The doctor responsible for the project, Pratima Singh from the National Rehabilitation Medicine Hospita in Suva, says the team is also training local technicians to produce more limbs and equipment has been purchased so they can be made in Fiji.

Dr Singh says the prosthesis designed by Jaipur Foot are lighter, more durable and can be produced more cheaply than those previously available in Fiji.

She says there's been a positive response from patients so far.

"We can see the joy on their faces, even our staff are so happy. I am very excited about this project because we know there are many amputees who had repeatedly come to our department simply because we did not have the materials to fabricate their limbs in the past. This is an opportunity for them to have a limb."

Dr Pratima Singh