As reported in the Jakarta Post online February 28, Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih, MPH, PHD, called for improved O&P services to accommodate the increasing numbers of disabled people in Indonesia.
The country has few domestic manufacturers that provide quality O&P equipment or diabetic footwear at affordable prices due to a lack of infrastructure, facilities, and skills, according to the article.
“We should improve prosthetics and orthotics services, direly needed to raise the quality of life and productivity of the disabled,” Sedyaningsih said at an O&P conference on February 25.
A 2004 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS) found that 6 million Indonesians are disabled-1.7 million of whom are physically handicapped, with increasing numbers due to diabetes mellitus.
Ida Ayu Krishanti, MD, an internist from Fatmawati Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia, said many people with diabetes mellitus had to undergo amputations after suffering serious tissue damage from the disease. She said that comprehensive treatment of the diabetic foot, including wearing proper footwear, could prevent amputations.
Sedyaningsih said the government is committed to improving prosthetics and orthotics services nationwide.
