What is the situation regarding amputees?
Among the many people injured in the earthquake, hundredsif not thousandssuffered serious injuries that required amputations of limbs, hands and fingers. PAHO/WHO experts in disabilities are helping plan for the short- and longer-term needs of people who have undergone amputations and who require intensive wound care and rehabilitative services. The Ministry of Health will complete a National Plan for Disability by 1 March that will encompass rehabilitation centers, prosthetics, orthotics, and accessible structures. Handicap International, Miami University, Healing Hands, and soon, CBM, are currently providing physical therapy in half or more existing hospital facilities. Handicap International, CBM and the le Secretariat dEtat a lIntegration des Personnes Handicapees (SEIPH) are currently working on funding to establish a common database and a hotline on disabilities. SEIPH has working with its counterpart in the Dominican Republic to help meet needs in Haiti.
