"Through a partnership with Jaipur Foot Camp, we will establish an artificial limb centre in TT": PM Persad-Bissessar

Port of Spain [Trinidad and Tobago], October 4 (ANI): Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced that an artificial foot centre will soon be established in Trinidad and Tobago, extending benefits not only to the nation but also to the wider Caricom community.

The announcement came during the inauguration of the Artificial Limb Fitment Camp held at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain on October 3.

More than 800 people are expected to receive prosthetic limbs under the initiative, which was promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Trinidad and Tobago in July this year. In addition to the donations, India is also providing financial assistance for the setting up of a permanent limb centre.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said, "Through a partnership with the Jaipur Foot Camp, we will be establishing an artificial limb centre in TT. It is not just for TT, but we can reach out to our Caricom brothers and sisters in the region. Ministers (Barry) Padarath and (Saddam) Hosein met with the delegation and others before this event and there will be exciting things we will be working with for the development of TT.

"They will set up the camp and they are donating the machinery, which will cost US$100,000 to set up, and they have pledged US$75,000 for this project in grant funding. This is tremendous humanity and generosity for which we thank them."

She explained that over the course of 50 days, hundreds of citizens would be measured, fitted, and trained to walk again free of cost, fulfilling PM Modi's earlier commitment.

"Just three months later, that promise has taken foot in TT with containers of lightweight limbs shipped from Jaipur, India, guided by High Commissioner (Pradeep Singh) Rajpurohit, partnered with several volunteer groups, our ministries of Social Development and Health and the renowned Jaipur Foot Organisation to make Prime Minister Modi's vision a reality," she said.

Highlighting the public health challenge, she pointed out that the Ministry of Health records 350-400 lower-limb amputations annually, mainly due to diabetes and traffic accidents.

"With one in six adults living with diabetes in TT, the second-highest rate in the Americas, too often, a small foot wound spirals into the loss of a limb. The economic toll is severe, as a single amputation can reduce a household's income by 20-40 per cent, while a prosthetic limb costs $15,000-$40,000, far beyond the reach of most families," she noted.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said she was deeply moved after seeing amputees fitted with new limbs at the camp.

"Only yesterday they were fitted with new limbs and they were already walking. There is hope, as eight in ten amputees fitted with a quality prosthesis regain basic mobility and one in two returns to work or school within a year," PM Bissessar said.

"If even two-thirds of the 800 beneficiaries of this camp regain the ability to earn or study, over 500 people will be restored to full participation in society. This will ignite a wave of productivity, renewed confidence, and dignity across families and communities, transforming lives and strengthening the very fabric of our nation," she noted.

The initiative is being delivered by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), described on its website as the world's largest organisation for the rehabilitation of disabled persons, which has already provided over 2.5 million artificial limbs, calipers, and other aids free of charge across India and 27 other countries.

High Commissioner Rajpurohit emphasised the urgent need for the programme in TT.

"When I proposed this project, I was told normally a camp of 600 people was done for a fairly large country. I proposed about 1,200 based on my assessment as a medical doctor. We see very high incidences of diabetes here and because of that, and because we have a pretty large number of above-knee amputations, I was able to convince my ministry and government to allocate 800 beneficiaries for this camp," he said.

Rajpurohit explained that the camp, which opened on October 3 at the National Council for Indian Culture's Nagar in Chaguanas, will run for 50 days.

"The camp has already been over-subscribed, as we have 800 beneficiaries but the number registered with us is more than 800 and we are in the process of accommodating to the extent possible the maximum names. We are already slotted potential beneficiaries from across the country, some are coming from far-flung areas," he said.

"We are also expecting beneficiaries from other island countries, Grenada and Dominica, but that is outside of the 800 beneficiaries, and we have made the additional accommodations for that," Rajpurohit added.

He added that as part of the permanent centre, local technicians would be sent to India for training, while Indian trainers would also travel to Trinidad and Tobago to support the set-up.

BMVSS founder Devendra Raj Mehta expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve.

"They are among the most distressed segment of the population, having lost their limbs, they lost their mobility, they lost an income, and they lost their social respect. They suffered not from one but from four disabilities, including psychological also included. Now to make them normal again, what is to be done? "We provide artificial limbs of a prototype we innovated in Jaipur, and this has become the most widely used limb in the world. This is the meaning of universal health. If people are in trouble, we have to help them," he said. (ANI)

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