The Role of NGOs in Providing Prosthetics in Conflict Zones
In conflict zones, populations face numerous humanitarian challenges, such as the lack of necessities – food, water, shelter, and safety – affecting their daily life. One often overlooked challenge people face is the critical need for prosthetics and rehabilitation services. In times of war and conflict, healthcare institutions and systems are overwhelmed with injured people seeking medical care. Individuals who underwent an amputation as a result of war-related trauma, are more often than not, left without the needed access to proper devices and support that will help them regain their mobility, independence and dignity. In such cases, NGOs play a life changing role in providing the required assistance.
Prosthetics Are Crucial to Survive in Conflict Zones
In regions affected by conflict, injuries that in normal circumstances could be treated without the need of amputation, instead result in severe amputations often without anesthesia such as in the Gaza strip. Health care institutions face enormous pressure and are pushed beyond capacity with high numbers of patients. Due to such immense pressure – there's typically a shortage of doctors, nurses, medical equipment, and a sanitary environment to perform surgeries and assistance. Even if a doctor is available for treatment, the situation they are forced to operate under, and the lack of needed tools – creates an unideal situation for operation and proper recovery. As a result, long term care for those amputated because of war, such as creating, fitting, and maintaining prosthetics, is rarely provided. Although its need is crucial for those individuals, not only physically, but also psychologically.
Prosthetics are not just a medical device for people living with limb loss. They are a tool that restores basic movements; they help make daily routines manageable, allows individuals to go to school, work, and contribute to their community. The need for prosthetics is especially critical in conflict zones. In environments like Gaza, where infrastructure has been reduced to rubble, streets have become unwalkable, but with prosthetics, such treacherous situations can somehow be eased with the availability of prosthetics. Prosthetics not only help individuals with amputations physically but also benefits them mentally. Social isolation and struggles with emotional distress due to lack of mobility create significant barriers to coping with daily life, which proper prosthetic support helps them gradually overcome.
The Reality for the Gaza Strip
In places like the Gaza Strip, where war is affecting people’s daily lives, and many suffer with life altering injuries, the demand for prosthetics and rehabilitation is constantly growing. Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure is facing an enormous strain, making long-term recovery services difficult to access. Amputees in these areas often encounter challenges such as long waiting times, limited access to specialized rehabilitation, difficulty securing transportation to clinics, and shortages of prosthetic components and maintenance services. NGOs operating in these regions work to bridge these gaps by offering consistent support, ensuring that amputees receive assessments, fittings, and the long-term care necessary for recovery.
Healthcare Gaps NGOs Step in to Fill
NGOs working in conflict-affected regions address several gaps that local systems often cannot fill alone. These include:
1. Providing Prosthetic Devices
In areas like the Gaza strip, where the local healthcare system is unable to provide the needed care to those who have been amputated, NGOs like Restoring Hope Society (RHS) step in. They help in providing and fitting prosthetic limbs in areas affected by war and conflict. Such procedures require specialized expertise, equipment, and materials that are not readily available in such circumstances. So, NGOs work in providing customized prosthetics that meet each person’s needs, whether it’s a lower limb prosthesis for walking or an upper limb device to help perform handy tasks.
RHS approaches such cases with a thorough medical assessment, followed by precise measurements and prosthetic fitting, and continues with technical, psychological, and social support. Methods suited for emergency situations are employed, ensuring that patients receive safe, effective prosthetics in a timely manner, along with continuous follow-up to address their evolving needs.
2. Physical Rehabilitation and Follow-Up Care
Providing prosthetics is just the first step. Amputees also require physical rehabilitation to regain strength and mobility, occupational therapy to perform daily tasks, and ongoing stump care to prevent infection and irritation.
RHS prioritizes helping their patients receive proper rehabilitation and follow-up care, a necessity for long term success. They offer sessions which focus on building muscle strength, restoring movement, and improving functional ability following prosthetic fitting. These sessions help guide patients adapt at every stage, whether before prosthetic fitting, during the fitting process, or afterward through long-term follow-up.
3. Psychological Rehabilitation
Psychological support is a crucial part of rehabilitation for individuals who have experienced limb loss. Counseling and therapy help patients cope with stress, adapt to life changes, and rebuild emotional resilience, which is essential for both physical recovery and overall well-being, especially in conflict zones.
RHS provides specialized psychological support tailored to each patient’s needs. The services include individual and group sessions led by qualified professionals, focusing on emotional stability and practical coping strategies. Each patient’s environment, social background, and health condition is taken into account to ensure holistic care that supports recovery and reintegration into daily life.
4. Nutrition and Feeding Programs
Proper nutrition is a critical component of recovery for individuals who have experienced amputation. Balanced meals and nutritional guidance are crucial to supporting healing, strengthening the body, and helping contribute to overall health and well-being, particularly in areas where conflict has led to limited access to essential resources.
The implementation of nutritional programs designed for injured individuals and their families in conflict zones is crucial at RHS. Such programs include medically appropriate meals and personalized nutritional guidance to support patients throughout treatment and recovery. These implementations are based on thorough assessments of individual needs, ensuring that the support provided is effective in improving the patients' health.
How NGOs Aim to Create Sustainable, Long-Term Impact
NGOs consistently aim to create systems that could help contribute beyond immediate emergencies. Such as through local partnerships, knowledge sharing initiatives, community education, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Restoring an individual's mobility and independence can be life changing, and NGOs play a big role in helping to make this possible. By providing prosthetics, rehabilitation, and longterm support, NGOs offer more than medical care; they offer hope, stability, and a path forward.