The Class of 2017 students and other ribbon-cutting attendees celebrate the opening of the new P&O department at the University of Medical Technology, Yangon, Myanmar.
Photograph courtesy of Exceed.
A celebration was held January 18 to mark the opening of the new P&O department at the University of Medical Technology, Yangon, Myanmar. In attendance were the Exceed (formerly the Cambodia Trust) board, CEO, and country directors, as well as the Minister of Health and his team, and The Nippon Foundation.
The Nippon Foundation funded the construction and equipped the new building at a cost of nearly $1 million, and has extended its commitment of support for an additional ten years. The curriculum was developed and approved over two years and the teaching meets international standards set by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO). The program lecturers will initially come from Exceed’s other projects, as there are no qualified Myanmar prosthetists/orthotists available. At the beginning of January, 16 new students commenced their studies, with an anticipated graduation in 2017.
This partnership between Exceed and The Nippon Foundation began in 2013 with The Nippon Foundation providing the funds for a team of six prosthetists/orthotists from Southeast Asia to work at Yangon’s National Rehabilitation Hospital, where they helped to improve the quality and quantity of P&O care and devices. In 2014, a total of 2,231 patients were seen and the Exceed team helped to produce about 1,500 P&O devices.
