India: ICRC at world physical rehabilitation congress
04-02-2013 News Release 13/14
New Delhi (ICRC) – A 30-member delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is in Hyderabad to participate in the 14th World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO), which is taking place from 4 to 7 February. The aim of the four-day event is to promote the sharing and learning of the latest advances in prosthetic and orthotic care in order to provide disabled people with the best options for rehabilitation. This is the first time the ISPO world congress has been held in India.
"The ICRC has been invited to the conference to share its three-decade-long experience in providing physical rehabilitation services in remote and violence-affected areas," said Achille Otou-Essono, an ICRC physical rehabilitation manager based in New Delhi.
Among the participants at the congress are ICRC and ICRC-supported physical rehabilitation professionals from Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Philippines, Sudan, Ethiopia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Togo, Pakistan and India. Altogether, more than 1,000 orthotists, prosthetists, physiotherapists, orthopaedic surgeons and other rehabilitation professionals from over 80 countries are taking part in the event.
The ICRC, a neutral and independent international organization, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. As part of its humanitarian mission, it has been providing physical rehabilitation services for victims of armed violence across the world since 1979. In India, the ICRC has been providing physical rehabilitation services through partner organizations at various locations across the country since 2004.
For further information, please contact:
Marek Resich, ICRC New Delhi, tel: +91 97 1130 9561
Surinder Oberoi, ICRC New Delhi, tel: +91 98 7179 8386