Disability Aids

There are an estimated 16 million people with disabilities in Bangladesh, or about 10 percent of the country's population. However, persons with disabilities in this country still have limited access to medical services, care and access to equipment that can improve their quality of life.  

Persons with disabilities are entitled to state support, but government programmes are limited in scope and mostly restricted to urban areas. To fill the gap, many non-government organisations (NGOs) have taken steps to provide assistance to persons with disabilities, but with their limited resources, they are not able to give everyone the tools they need to lead a life as normal as possible.

Having the right kind of equipment, aids and appliances are essential for disabled persons to enjoy independent living. Some disability aids may be related to a certain health need, while others assist with particular tasks. Equipment for physically-challenged people include wheelchairs and walking aids, hearing and vision aids, artificial limbs and surgical appliances, and communication aids.

A prosthesis or artificial limb is a manmade substitute for a limb lost through a congenital defect, accident or illness. In Bangladesh, road accidents are one of the main causes of losing a limb. According to Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh, 1,722 persons were maimed for life, out of a total of 16,193 people injured, in road accidents in 2017.

Cosmesis is a type of prosthesis that is designed to be purely cosmetic and has little or no function, like artificial hands. Other prosthetic limbs are highly functional, like artificial legs, which are designed to be covered by clothing and are more than just rods and wires.

Modern prostheses are so advanced nowadays that any part of the body, from ear or nose to a finger or toe, can be replaced by lifelike artificially made substitutes. But in Bangladesh, we do not have much access of artificial limbs.

In practice, there are four common types of prosthetic limbs available in our country that include below the knee (BK, transtibial), which is a prosthetic lower leg attached to an intact upper leg; above the knee (AK, transfemoral), a prosthetic lower and upper leg, including a prosthetic knee; below the elbow (BE transradial), a prosthetic forearm; and above the elbow (AE, transhumeral), a prosthetic lower and upper arm, including a prosthetic elbow.

There are no state-run factories manufacturing prostheses in our country, but there are some private companies and non-profits that produce artificial limbs and mobility aids with components partially made in Bangladesh and other imported materials.

National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), popularly known as ‘Pongu Hospital’, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital is an orthopaedic hospital and institute of higher education. Jaipur Foot, a low-cost rubber-based prosthetic foot or leg designed by RC Sharma in 1968 in the Indian city of Jaipur, was first introduced in Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013. Jointly with NITOR, Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), an Indian non-profit that makes the world famous Jaipur Foot started producing artificial limbs in this country in 2015. The prosthetic feet and legs were made at a workshop of NITOR’s Limb Centre. The organisation also held camps at the Pongu Hospital to fit impoverished amputees with free limbs, with sponsorship from Moyeen Foundation. The last time the Jaipur Foot team came to Bangladesh was in September 2017.

Mahfuzul Hoque Talukder, superintendent of the Limb Centre of NITOR, told this correspondent: “As the Indian team hasn’t returned yet, there is no activity now in the limb centre. Patients who need artificial limbs come to the centre to register their names and when the team comes again, they will be called in for further procedure. Right now, almost 4,000 names have been registered. Many posts of limb-makers are vacant right now, so the activities here have slowed down even more, and we are not taking any more names for registration.”

There are about a dozen private limb centres in Shyamoli, near NITOR. Besides artificial limbs, they also sell other aids and equipment, like orthopaedic belts, cervical collars, crutches and walkers.

Dynamic Limb Centre (DLC) stocks high-tech artificial limbs, braces and mobility aids at its showroom in Shyamoli. Its products include lower limb prostheses, upper limb prostheses, and all kinds of splints, braces and wheelchairs. From wooded to carbon fibre material, hydraulic to pneumatic power, mechanical to electrical function, every kind of artificial limb is available there. The organisation also produces artificial limbs and braces at its own manufacturing facilities.

BRAC Limb and Brace Centre (BLBC), established in 2000, offers rehabilitation services for disabled persons and provides formal training in prosthetics or orthotics. More than 3,000 people have received artificial limbs and braces from BLBC and there are over 400 paying physiotherapy clients at BLBC branches in Dhaka and Mymensingh. The centre also provides general advice and links to other BRAC development programmes especially aimed at people who have lost their livelihoods as a result of their disability.

Artificial Limb Production Unit (ALPU) is a project of HEED Bangladesh that started in 1992 to serve amputees. The project was funded by TEAR Fund UK. ALPU makes artificial limbs, braces and other walking aids for disabled people. It also provides training on various issues including safety, protection and care of disabled people.

Most quality prostheses or aids available in this country are imported or donated by overseas charities through local or international NGOs. Equipment like wheelchairs, walking frames, stands, crutches or portable ramps are imported from countries like India, China, Vietnam, South Korea and Germany, and sold at very high prices.

Ruhul Amin Robin, a salesperson at a shop that sells equipment for the disabled near Pongu Hospital, said: “All the things in this store are imported, mostly from India and China. And that’s why the items are a little bit expensive, but the people who really need them have no choice but to buy from us, so our business is going well.”

The Ministry of Social Welfare, non-profits and even many individuals donate equipment, including aids for hearing and vision-impaired people, to organisations and schools that work with disabled persons. Sometimes, one can even rent equipment like wheelchairs from some organisations for a short time.

Najnin Nahar, mother of a physically-challenged child, told this correspondent: “My son has cerebral palsy from birth, for which he can’t even move by himself. As he was studying at a school run by Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation, we always used a wheelchair from the school which was donated by the Ministry of Social Welfare. As we could not afford an advanced model that he needed for easy movement, we were dependent on the school’s wheelchair. But finally we registered my son’s name with the ministry to get a donated wheelchair, and he has now got his own wheelchair.”  

In the area of hearing impairment, the Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Welfare runs seven schools in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Chandpur, Faridpur and Sylhet. The schools have a capacity to admit 700 children and provide residential facilities for about 180 children. Alongside the government, a number of local NGOs also arrange free treatment and aids for hearing impaired persons. Some Chinese-made hearing aids are now sold at pharmacies at very low price. Some of the organisations involved with helping the hearing impaired are Bangladesh National Federation for the Deaf, Hi-Care, Society for Assistance to Hearing Impaired Children (SAHIC), and Deaf Children’s Welfare Association of Bangladesh.

In the field of visual impairment, the Department of Social Services runs a number of schools in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna. The schools each have a capacity of admitting 500 students and hostel facilities for 180 children, who receive free room and board. In addition, the department also has a scheme for educating visually-impaired students along with general students at public high schools all over the country. Under this scheme, a Braille press, donated by American Foundation for the Blind, has been set up in Dhaka. Braille books printed at the press are supplied free of cost to visually-impaired students. There are some other NGOs providing support to visually-impaired people, such as   National Federation of the Blind, Sightsavers International, The Baptist Mission Integrated School, Assistance for Blind Children (ABC), Bangladesh Dristhihin Foundation, and Bangladesh Blind Mission.

Some organisations also offer education and vocational training to visually and hearing impaired persons and help them find suitable jobs, so they can earn their own living and become self-reliant.  

Jabunnahar Begum, principal of Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation, a semi-government organisation working with the disabled, said, “Access to education for disabled people is severely limited. It is estimated that only about five percent of children with disabilities are enrolled in our educational institutions. Recently, the government has been promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities. In fact, this is really an encouraging step, which may create a space for the enrolment of more children with disabilities in mainstream educational institutions.”

With the support of Norwegian Association of Disabled (NAD), the Department of Social Services established the Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) at Savar in 1996. The organisation works with disability issues, focussing on integrating disability in mainstream development. CDD provides support and technical assistance to development partners to address the needs of persons with disabilities around the country. At present, CDD is in direct contact with over 300 development organisations working with disability issues in 52 districts, according to its website.

Along with the government, a number of non-government organisations are also providing support to children and youths with intellectual disabilities.

Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation (BPF) runs special schools for children with intellectual disabilities, like cerebral palsy and autism. In Dhaka, there are two special schools where children are screened, diagnosed and placed in different classes for education and training, according to their age levels. Society for the Welfare of the Intellectually Disabled - Bangladesh (SWID-Bangladesh) was established in 1977 to cater to the needs of intellectually-challenged children and young adults.  

Other organisations, such as Autism Welfare Centre, Society for the Welfare of Autistic Children, Society for the Education of the Intellectually Disabled - Trust, Caring Glory, School for the Gifted, Proyash and many other private organisations are helping children with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy.

To accomplish the mission of inclusion of persons with disabilities into mainstream educational institutions or in society in general, there are a few non-government organisations working for the rehabilitation of the disabled in Bangladesh.

Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) was established in 1979 to provide treatment, rehabilitation and training facilities for people with paralyses. It set up a special school in 1993 primarily for children with cerebral palsy. Recognising the shortcomings of a segregated educational system, CRP combined special classes with mainstream classes to accommodate disabled children.

BRAC, a development organisation, provides training for teachers on inclusive education and positively encourages disabled children to attend its non-formal schools. Currently, there are approximately 14,000 children with a variety of disabilities attending these schools.

There are other well-known organisations working for the development of persons with disabilities, such as Underprivileged Children’s Education Programme (UCEP), Gram Bikash Sangstha, Disability Resource and Documentation Centre (DRDC), and Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID), Voluntary Health Services Society (VHSS), Bangladesh Protibandhi Kallyan Somity (BPKS), Dhaka Ahsania Mission, and Disabilities Rehabilitation and Research Association. n

Photos: Courtesy

Reference: ‘Disability in Bangladesh’, Centre for Disability in Development; A Study

 of Disability in Bangladesh.

Disability Aids

There are an estimated 16 million people with disabilities in Bangladesh, or about 10 percent of the countrys population. However, persons with disabilities in this country still have limited access to medical services, care and access to equipment that can improve their quality of life. Persons with disabilities are entitled to state support, but government programmes are limited in scope and mostly restricted to urban areas. To fill the gap, many non-government organisations (NGOs) have taken steps to provide assistance to persons with disabilities, but with their limited resources, they are not able to give everyone the tools they need to lead a life as normal as possible. Having the right kind of equipment, aids and appliances are essential for disabled persons to enjoy independent living. Some disability aids may be related to a certain health need, while others assist with particular tasks. Equipment for physically-challenged people include wheelchairs and walking aids, hearing and vision aids, artificial limbs and surgical appliances, and communication aids. A prosthesis or artificial limb is a manmade substitute for a limb lost through a congenital defect, accident or illness. In Bangladesh, road accidents are one of the main causes of losing a limb. According to Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh, 1,722 persons were maimed for life, out of a total of 16,193 people injured, in road accidents in 2017. Cosmesis is a type of prosthesis that is designed to be purely cosmetic and has little or no function, like artificial hands. Other prosthetic limbs are highly functional, like artificial legs, which are designed to be covered by clothing and are more than just rods and wires. Modern prostheses are so advanced nowadays that any part of the body, from ear or nose to a finger or toe, can be replaced by lifelike artificially made substitutes. But in Bangladesh, we do not have much access of artificial limbs. In practice, there are four common types of prosthetic limbs available in our country that include below the knee (BK, transtibial), which is a prosthetic lower leg attached to an intact upper leg; above the knee (AK, transfemoral), a prosthetic lower and upper leg, including a prosthetic knee; below the elbow (BE transradial), a prosthetic forearm; and above the elbow (AE, transhumeral), a prosthetic lower and upper arm, including a prosthetic elbow. There are no state-run factories manufacturing prostheses in our country, but there are some private companies and non-profits that produce artificial limbs and mobility aids with components partially made in Bangladesh and other imported materials. National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), popularly known as Pongu Hospital, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital is an orthopaedic hospital and institute of higher education. Jaipur Foot, a low-cost rubber-based prosthetic foot or leg designed by RC Sharma in 1968 in the Indian city of Jaipur, was first introduced in Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013. Jointly with NITOR, Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), an Indian non-profit that makes the world famous Jaipur Foot started producing artificial limbs in this country in 2015. The prosthetic feet and legs were made at a workshop of NITORs Limb Centre. The organisation also held camps at the Pongu Hospital to fit impoverished amputees with free limbs, with sponsorship from Moyeen Foundation. The last time the Jaipur Foot team came to Bangladesh was in September 2017. Mahfuzul Hoque Talukder, superintendent of the Limb Centre of NITOR, told this correspondent: As the Indian team hasnt returned yet, there is no activity now in the limb centre. Patients who need artificial limbs come to the centre to register their names and when the team comes again, they will be called in for further procedure. Right now, almost 4,000 names have been registered. Many posts of limb-makers are vacant right now, so the activities here have slowed down even more, and we are not taking any more names for registration. There are about a dozen private limb centres in Shyamoli, near NITOR. Besides artificial limbs, they also sell other aids and equipment, like orthopaedic belts, cervical collars, crutches and walkers. Dynamic Limb Centre (DLC) stocks high-tech artificial limbs, braces and mobility aids at its showroom in Shyamoli. Its products include lower limb prostheses, upper limb prostheses, and all kinds of splints, braces and wheelchairs. From wooded to carbon fibre material, hydraulic to pneumatic power, mechanical to electrical function, every kind of artificial limb is available there. The organisation also produces artificial limbs and braces at its own manufacturing facilities. BRAC Limb and Brace Centre (BLBC), established in 2000, offers rehabilitation services for disabled persons and provides formal training in prosthetics or orthotics. More than 3,000 people have received artificial limbs and braces from BLBC and there are over 400 paying physiotherapy clients at BLBC branches in Dhaka and Mymensingh. The centre also provides general advice and links to other BRAC development programmes especially aimed at people who have lost their livelihoods as a result of their disability. Artificial Limb Production Unit (ALPU) is a project of HEED Bangladesh that started in 1992 to serve amputees. The project was funded by TEAR Fund UK. ALPU makes artificial limbs, braces and other walking aids for disabled people. It also provides training on various issues including safety, protection and care of disabled people. Most quality prostheses or aids available in this country are imported or donated by overseas charities through local or international NGOs. Equipment like wheelchairs, walking frames, stands, crutches or portable ramps are imported from countries like India, China, Vietnam, South Korea and Germany, and sold at very high prices. Ruhul Amin Robin, a salesperson at a shop that sells equipment for the disabled near Pongu Hospital, said: All the things in this store are imported, mostly from India and China. And thats why the items are a little bit expensive, but the people who really need them have no choice but to buy from us, so our business is going well. The Ministry of Social Welfare, non-profits and even many individuals donate equipment, including aids for hearing and vision-impaired people, to organisations and schools that work with disabled persons. Sometimes, one can even rent equipment like wheelchairs from some organisations for a short time. Najnin Nahar, mother of a physically-challenged child, told this correspondent: My son has cerebral palsy from birth, for which he cant even move by himself. As he was studying at a school run by Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation, we always used a wheelchair from the school which was donated by the Ministry of Social Welfare. As we could not afford an advanced model that he needed for easy movement, we were dependent on the schools wheelchair. But finally we registered my sons name with the ministry to get a donated wheelchair, and he has now got his own wheelchair. In the area of hearing impairment, the Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Welfare runs seven schools in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Chandpur, Faridpur and Sylhet. The schools have a capacity to admit 700 children and provide residential facilities for about 180 children. Alongside the government, a number of local NGOs also arrange free treatment and aids for hearing impaired persons. Some Chinese-made hearing aids are now sold at pharmacies at very low price. Some of the organisations involved with helping the hearing impaired are Bangladesh National Federation for the Deaf, Hi-Care, Society for Assistance to Hearing Impaired Children (SAHIC), and Deaf Childrens Welfare Association of Bangladesh. In the field of visual impairment, the Department of Social Services runs a number of schools in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna. The schools each have a capacity of admitting 500 students and hostel facilities for 180 children, who receive free room and board. In addition, the department also has a scheme for educating visually-impaired students along with general students at public high schools all over the country. Under this scheme, a Braille press, donated by American Foundation for the Blind, has been set up in Dhaka. Braille books printed at the press are supplied free of cost to visually-impaired students. There are some other NGOs providing support to visually-impaired people, such as National Federation of the Blind, Sightsavers International, The Baptist Mission Integrated School, Assistance for Blind Children (ABC), Bangladesh Dristhihin Foundation, and Bangladesh Blind Mission. Some organisations also offer education and vocational training to visually and hearing impaired persons and help them find suitable jobs, so they can earn their own living and become self-reliant. Jabunnahar Begum, principal of Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation, a semi-government organisation working with the disabled, said, Access to education for disabled people is severely limited. It is estimated that only about five percent of children with disabilities are enrolled in our educational institutions. Recently, the government has been promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities. In fact, this is really an encouraging step, which may create a space for the enrolment of more children with disabilities in mainstream educational institutions. With the support of Norwegian Association of Disabled (NAD), the Department of Social Services established the Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) at Savar in 1996. The organisation works with disability issues, focussing on integrating disability in mainstream development. CDD provides support and technical assistance to development partners to address the needs of persons with disabilities around the country. At present, CDD is in direct contact with over 300 development organisations working with disability issues in 52 districts, according to its website. Along with the government, a number of non-government organisations are also providing support to children and youths with intellectual disabilities. Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation (BPF) runs special schools for children with intellectual disabilities, like cerebral palsy and autism. In Dhaka, there are two special schools where children are screened, diagnosed and placed in different classes for education and training, according to their age levels. Society for the Welfare of the Intellectually Disabled - Bangladesh (SWID-Bangladesh) was established in 1977 to cater to the needs of intellectually-challenged children and young adults. Other organisations, such as Autism Welfare Centre, Society for the Welfare of Autistic Children, Society for the Education of the Intellectually Disabled - Trust, Caring Glory, School for the Gifted, Proyash and many other private organisations are helping children with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy. To accomplish the mission of inclusion of persons with disabilities into mainstream educational institutions or in society in general, there are a few non-government organisations working for the rehabilitation of the disabled in Bangladesh. Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) was established in 1979 to provide treatment, rehabilitation and training facilities for people with paralyses. It set up a special school in 1993 primarily for children with cerebral palsy. Recognising the shortcomings of a segregated educational system, CRP combined special classes with mainstream classes to accommodate disabled children. BRAC, a development organisation, provides training for teachers on inclusive education and positively encourages disabled children to attend its non-formal schools. Currently, there are approximately 14,000 children with a variety of disabilities attending these schools. There are other well-known organisations working for the development of persons with disabilities, such as Underprivileged Childrens Education Programme (UCEP), Gram Bikash Sangstha, Disability Resource and Documentation Centre (DRDC), and Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID), Voluntary Health Services Society (VHSS), Bangladesh Protibandhi Kallyan Somity (BPKS), Dhaka Ahsania Mission, and Disabilities Rehabilitation and Research Association. n Photos: Courtesy Reference: Disability in Bangladesh, Centre for Disability in Development; A Study of Disability in Bangladesh.