Prosthetic-orthopedic centre in Grozny struggling with inadequate funding
By Timur Aliyev
GROZNY, Chechnya – The funding granted to the prosthetic-orthopedic centre in Grozny is insufficient to cover the needs of all those who require prostheses. This is evident from the comments of the organization"s director, Arbi Nukayev.
According to data supplied by the Chechen Ministry of Labour and Social Development, at the present time 9300 people are in need of prosthetic-orthopedic assistance, of whom 1500 have amputated limbs.
At the same time, the centre receives an annual grant of 11 million rubles, which according to Nukayev is sufficient for the manufacture of 500 prostheses of various types. 'As a rule, each year we have to manufacture as many as 900 prostheses and 1000 pairs of complex orthopedic footwear. The cost of that would be approximately 19 million rubles,' he says.
It is also impossible for the centre to manufacture the so-called complex prosthesis, which allows the joint of a limb to be replaced. The firm cannot make prostheses of this quality because of the complexity involved in their manufacture. Sending the amputee to Germany, where such prosthetic appliances are available, is too expensive, as it costs around 30,000 dollars.
Nukayev says that when the funding allotted to the centre by the Federal budget is insufficient, help arrives from humanitarian organizations which send the invalids to neighbouring republics to be fitted with prostheses.
Translated by David McDuff.
(MD/T)
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