ICRC provides artificial limbs to 14,000 people

Islamabad: The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) has provided free limb services to over 14,000 people with disabilities in the last three years, ICRC’s spokesperson Najam Abbassi told the media here Monday.

Najam said that the services were provided at centres located in Lahore, Muzaffargarh and Karachi. Three years after they were set up, three physical rehabilitation centres have been handed over to the Indus Hospital Network by ICRC. These centres were established as part of a tripartite agreement between the ICRC, the Indus Hospital Network and the CHAL Foundation in 2014.

The first centre, in Muzaffargarh, started functioning in March 2015 and is attached to Recep Tayyep Erdogan Hospital. The second one was step up in Karachi in April 2015 and is attached to the Indus Hospital, Korangi. The third centre opened its doors in December 2015 in Lahore and is attached to the Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif Hospital. All three provide modern rehabilitation services to people with disabilities. These include prosthetics, orthotics, physiotherapy and mobility devices like wheelchairs and crutches.

The ICRC provided Rs170 million to establish and run these centres from 2015 to mid-2017. It also offered scholarships and training opportunities to the technical staff, and imported a steady flow of raw materials for the production of artificial limbs.