National Syrian Project for Prosthetic Limbs

As the ongoing crisis in Syria claims more lives everyday, it also leaves behind a grim trail of severe injuries and disabilities.

One of the most tragic consequences of the conflict is that it resulted in a large number of amputees, most of whom are young and otherwise healthy.  Unless these amputees receive the appropriate help, their disability would have condemned them to a future of dependency, and inability to support themselves or their families.

A group of Syrian doctors and therapists set out to create an ambitious project to manufacture and supply prosthetic limbs to Syrians who have lost limbs, be that as a result of injuries, or due to illnesses such as diabetes or peripheral vascular disease.  The short-term aim of this project, the  National Syrian Project for Prosthetic Limbs, is to provide prosthetic limbs, free of charge, to 15,000 people, with a long-term objective to become a permanent facility, providing artificial limbs manufactured by Syrian workers, from locally purchased raw materials.

Clearly, such a massive project requires massive resources, both in terms of finance and expertise.  The organizers of this important projects have enlisted the help of a team of experts and technicians from Naya Qadam Trust, which was established in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.  Naya Qadam Trust will provide full technical and logistical support for the Project, and will carry out training for Syrian technicians, to enable them to manufacture artificial limbs, at the rate of 7 to 10 prostheses per day.  It is envisaged that patients will be assessed, enlisted in the physiotherapy and rehabilitation programme, and have the prosthetic limb fitted, all within 24 hours in a 0ne-stop operation, all free of charge.

Syria Relief is immensely proud to be a partner in this magnificent project.  We are joining forces with the Syrian British Medical Society (SBMS), the Syrian Expatriate Medical Association (SEMA), and the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Societies (OUSSM), to support the visionary and pioneering project.  We are counting on YOUR support.

For more details, please go to the Project’s Facebook page.

We are delighted to report that the project is now up and running.

To support this magnificent effort, please donate generously.