Regional rehabilitation and prosthetics project (410-0002) (formerly 499-0014)

The project will be implemented via grants to four U.S. PVOs. Two PVOs will receive grants to work in Vietnam. Focusing on the medical and surgical aspects of rehabilitation, Health Volunteers Overseas will work to improve the quality of rehabilitation services and care at the provincial level, by strengthening the skills of faculty members at medical, nursing, and physical therapy schools around the country, and encouraging the development of an institutional relationship between a U.S. medical/nursing school and a Vietnamese counterpart. World Rehabilitation Fund will receive a grant to improve the capacity of the Can Tho Orthopedic Center to provide rehabilitation services to disabled persons in six southern provinces; activities will include providing equipment and supplies, upgrading the skills of technicians, and improving services such as bracing, physical therapy, vocational training, outreach, and community-based rehabilitation services. In Cambodia, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation will help develop a prosthetics clinic, resulting in the fitting of 810 legs and 36 arms; train 9 Cambodians as prosthetic technicians and 10 in wheelchair manufacturing; and conduct vocational training in fish farming for the disabled. In Laos, World Vision Relief and Development (WVRD) will expand its ongoing program to help amputees and their families improve their quality of life and lead economically productive lives. WVRD will also train Laotian rehabilitation personnel to provide improved quality of care and more durable assistance devices.