I am again forwarding a very important contribution to the discussion from John Zeffer who has a wealth of experience in developing countries.
Mark Benveniste CP
—– Forwarded Message —-
From: John Zeffer
To: mark benveniste
Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 12:20:05 PM
Subject: Re: [OANDP-L] Components for Haiti
Dear Mark,
Your suggestion to open a discussion and perhaps create a planning committee for the needs of Haitian Post Trauma Rehabilitation is both timely and essential. As you mention, ideas have worked in other developing countries and lessons learned that perhaps do not have to be repeated.
I have worked 4 years in SE Asia, and more than 2 years in Ethiopia under the banners of NGOs such as Cambodia Trust, American Red Cross, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Vietnam Veterans of America. I have assisted in some research for ISPO and worked alongside of influential people who are credited with forming some of the more sustainable standards of prosthetic and orthotic care that exist today. Heather Mills (through Larry King), although very well intentioned, does not present a model of support that will work on such a large scale as presented in Haiti. We all know that a used prosthesis has little functional value, and what might be painstakingly salvaged from a pile of used prostheses is not effective in time and cost.
A standard of prosthetic care must be established as acceptable for the emergency at hand. The International Committee of the Red Cross developed a standard of Polypropylene Technology that was adopted by Cambodia and thus all the NGOs providing prosthetic care adopted that standard and trained national technicians in manufacture, delivery, and follow-up care for that technology. Having bits and pieces of a multitude of prosthetic parts serves no one in need of a repair, and has proven to be cost and time effective in country. Most importantly it offers a degree of Sustainability that assures prosthetic care will continue long after the NGOs have folded up their parachutes and left town.
The standard of technology that I am knowledgeable with is the ICRC PP-Cas system and is made available at reasonable cost to NGOs and other organizations that fall within the guidelines of not-for-profit efforts. There are other similar systems that have been available and are worthy of study, but that is one that I know to be well suited for such work as will present in Haiti for several years to come.
Please include my name on any list that offers service to this effort in any way as I am most interested in helping this Hatian effort off to a solid start rather than flounder about with alternating and often conflicting efforts that want the same results but have different means to obtain them. If this letter serves as nothing else, let it be the concept that donation of used prosthetic parts is not the effective way to fit an amputee population of what appears to be 40,000 souls.
A Committee must be formed to outline a proposal to address the current and future needs of the country.
A Standard of quality must be adopted for the sake of measuring ongoing efforts, addressing training needs, and working toward a sustainable program that can at some future date be handed over to a national governmental group (i.e. The Hatian Red Cross.)
I keep looking for some group or organization to appear from the rubble to pick up where CNN and Dr Gupta have left off. This is where the real work will begin when such an entity is identified, I hope it will be open to all ideas but especially to acknowledge what has offered promise in past/other post trauma countries.
Thank you for your timely and most important posting.
John Zeffer CP (E)
