By Abdulai Fasineh Dumbuya
The Programme Director at World Hope International Anna Vines has confirmed that there are 1,044 (one thousand and forty-four) children benefitting from physiotherapy services across the country.
She made the disclosure during an interview with Politico, as she explained the significance of joining the world over to commemorate World Physiotherapy Day on the 8th of September 2023.
She explained that one of the compelling reasons for putting more premium on children is that physiotherapy is mostly programmed in countries like the UK to cater for children.
Vines also a physiotherapist emphasized that if a child has a disability at an early age and proper care and attention is not quickly taken, then the disability can get worse. In order to prevent this from happening, she said that is why they want to make their services known to the public through awareness-raising campaigns, education and among others.
Using World PT Day as a focus, she said World Physiotherapy aims to support member organisations in their efforts to promote the profession and advance their expertise. She said that this year, the commemoration focused on arthritis, with an in-depth look at inflammatory arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and axial spondylo arthritis.
She added that this is why the association is ensuring that people get acquainted with a lot of information about its existence so much that people can acknowledge what they are capable of doing.
Speaking on the different diseases that are very common among children in their care, such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay, acquired brain injury, spinal bifida, and Down syndrome, among others, she singled out cerebral palsy as the most common, among children with makes up around 67% of caseload.
She further explained that cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affects a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture, citing that central means having to do with the brain and palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. She added that people with CP might need to use special equipment to be able to walk, or might need lifelong care.
She said that with the help of a physiotherapist, that gives equipment-like exercises, the child will recover from the sickness. She said that older people with stroke and other sicknesses also benefit from this service.
"We help people move their hands, feet or legs, and we help them exercise in order to regain their strength. We encourage people more so those with accident injuries to be able to recover, and we tell them that there is life after all," she said.
Speaking on their success stories, she said they have established the first-ever physiotherapy school in the country, through a partnership with the Tonkolili District College of Health Sciences and Commerce.
Vines stressed the need for more young people to undertake physiotherapy studies because it is a profession of its own that can be explored by the youth.
"The first students will graduate this year and that will surely expand physiotherapy awareness and education in the country. This is why we want to encourage more people to find a career in it," she said.
She said that though the college is not free, they have tried to make it reasonable because it is a profession many people do not know about. She said they offer both diploma and bachelor programmes, and the requirements are the same as doing any science course.
Commenting on the main areas of operation, she said they mainly work in Western Area urban and some parts of rural. "We work with partners to see children living with disabilities in Bo, Makeni, Moyamba and Mattru Jong. We will be expanding this as we work with more Government rehabilitation centres around the country," she said, adding that World Hope International does not charge for services saying "under 5s are free of charge at Government rehabilitation centres".
Asked about the relationship between World Hope International and Sierra Leone Physiotherapy Association, she said the latter is the umbrella body for all Physiotherapists working in Sierra Leone, including those at World Hope.
She admonished the people to stop associating witchcraft or something bad with stroke-like disease, saying that it is not spiritual but comes directly from the brain and affects one side of the body.
In 1996, 8 September was designated as World Physiotherapy Day, after World Physiotherapy was founded in 1951. It is an opportunity to recognize the work that physiotherapists do for their patients and community.
Sierra Leone was pronounced a Member of the World Physiotherapy Organization at the most recent general meeting that took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in May 2023.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (13/09/23)
