China Struggles to Help Its Disabled

Despite being home to the largest disabled population in the world, China is lagging when it comes to quality and cost-effective prostheses.

Some 600 factories in China produce about 50,000 prostheses each year, while an estimated 1.5 million Chinese are still in need of an affordable prosthetic limb or body part, according to ChinaDaily.com. Most of these factories just produce simple joints and parts for foreign manufacturers, and none have the technology to make advanced prostheses with artificial mechanisms and systems. The country's most popular products, however, are wheelchairs, with more than 1 million produced each year--mostly designed for Western customers.

"The technology and performance of domestic prosthetics lag far behind what we see produced by Western countries," said Wu Xihan, a prosthetics expert for China's national Paralympic teams. "Domestic products are much cheaper but they have to improve."

Jin Ergang, president of the China Prosthetics and Orthotics Association, said the industry started late in China, and experts in the field are scarce, with less than a quarter of the number currently in the United States, Germany, or Japan. "That's why the quality and quantity of Chinese products are below par," he said.

Even for those Chinese who can afford a prosthetic limb, choices are limited to German, British, and French brands, which came to China and instantly conquered the local markets in major cities because of the scarcity of domestic competitors. "An imported prosthetic limb costs from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan, almost the entire deposit for most Chinese families, and we are not taking account of the maintenance fees," said Chen Zhonggang, a sales representative of a joint venture in Beijing. "So without government funding, it is impossible for most people with disabilities to buy themselves a better life," he said.

Jin said the governing body for China's prosthetic industry is proposing that the government allow more funding to upgrade the industry and provide financial support for the disabled. "It is time to invite the disabled to walk out of the shadows," said Chen.

China Struggles to Help Its Disabled

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China Struggles to Help Its Disabled

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Hanger Announces Three Acquisitions

New Forum Featured at PrimeFare West

New Forum Featured at PrimeFare West

O&P JOBS

HH Manager, Orthotics & Prosthetics

Orthotics and Prosthetics Assistant

Certified Orthotist — Full-Time or Part-Time, Pediatric Practice

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