Sharing wheelchair knowledge and research

The third All Africa Wheelchair Congress took place in Zambia in August 2003. Christine Cornick of Motivation, UK, reports on the event.

With funding from the DFID programme, Motivation team members and more than 20 staff and graduates of the TATCOT Wheelchair Technologists Training Course in Tanzania joined delegates from 14 countries to participate in the third All Africa Wheelchair Congress held in Lusaka, Zambia, in August 2003.

The Congress was officially opened by Khalfan Khalfan, Chairperson of the Pan Africa Federation of the Disabled (PAFOD), who said that:

"Mobility is one of the most difficult problems of disabled people in Africa and developing countries. Wheelchairs liberate those people with disabilities who need them. Without them, many people with disabilities end up prisoners in their own homes. A wheelchair enables participation in family and community activities, from economic empowerment to advocacy of human rights."

Congress sessions included wheelchair and hand-tricycle design and production issues, marketing, and wheelchair assessment and prescription. Fatuma Acan, a wheelchair producer from Uganda and graduate of the TATCOT course, remarked:

"The congress has really helped all the organisations involved in wheelchair production in Africa to see how we can collaborate to improve the design and distribution of wheelchairs, and to challenge the importing of old and inappropriate wheelchairs to the continent, which can destroy our local production."

One of the strongest outcomes of the congress was the recognition of the need for more formal collaboration and networking between wheelchair builders. This evolved at the congress into the formation of the Pan African Wheelchair Builders Association (PAWBA).

Motivation designer Chris Rushman remarked:

"The congress gave us a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and experiences between our graduates and the other local and international organisations working in wheelchair production in Africa. As part of the KaR programme we will be carrying out new design work over the next year which will draw on the invaluable discussions we had in Zambia."

As part of the second phase of the KaR Programme, Motivation is developing a new design of hand-propelled tricycle and a wheelchair technology guide, and is evaluating the feasibility of replicating the Wheelchair Technologists Training Course in Central America.

In Africa, the Wheelchair Technologists Training Course has now graduated three intakes of students from Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Nigeria, the majority of them disabled people who are now establishing wheelchair production networks in their communities.

See wheelchair design in Africa for more information on Motivation's KaR-funded projects.