Assistive Devices

This report summarises the findings of the 4th All Africa Wheelchair Congress the theme of which was to assess how to advance appropriate wheelchair services across the African continent. This report explores a range of key topics including: impact of wheelchairs on quality of life; partnership for appropriate wheelchair services (from a global and African perspective); wheelchair technology training; wheelchair services and poverty reduction strategy; conventions and guidelines; and capacity building
4th All Africa Wheelchair Congress Report
Uhuru Hotel, Moshi
17-21 September 2007

This book deals with practical advice on health care for women with disabilities. It has been developed in partnership with health care professionals and disabled women in over 42 countries. It covers the key issues of disability in the community; accessible health care; mental health; sexual health; family planning; and child birth. The book is written in a practical and accessible style, suitable for anyone with an interest in disability, social development and women's health issues. In particular, the book offers a valuable insight into 'real-life' personal experiences of disabled women

This book provides an overview of current community-based rehabilitation (CBR) knowledge and shows how this information has been interpreted and implemented in the African context. It has been developed from conference presentations and discussions that took place in South Africa in 2007. It is useful for people interested in general CBR information and CBR in Africa

This paper outlines the economic and poverty situation of working-age persons with disabilities and their households in 15 developing countries. Using data from the World Health Survey, the study presents estimates of disability prevalence, individual-level economic well-being, household-level economic well-being, and multidimensional poverty measure. Detailed appendices are provided to support the results of the study. This paper is useful for people interested in the social and economic conditions of people with disabilities in developing countries
Social Protection Discussion Paper No 1109

These guidelines "are to be used to develop national or institutional guidelines; by governments and organizations dealing with health care equipment donations"

These guidelines are designed to promote personal mobility and enhance the quality of life of wheelchair users. The aim is to assist Member States in developing a system of wheelchair provision that is consistent with the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Chapter topics includes: design and production, service delivery, training, and policy planning

This book was written primarily for parents and other caregivers of young children. It provides a wealth of well-illustrated practical information. The book gives a thorough overview of the different ways to communicate with hearing impaired children. It is written in an easy-to-read style with lots of illustrations and examples from Southern countries.

This publication focuses on problem-based learning and looks at disability from a human rights perspective. Gives practical guidelines for CBR workers on the child-to-child approach, appropriate technology and independent living

This manual gives suggestions and techniques for promoting all aspects of the independence of the spinal-injured person. It deals with bladder and bowel management, exercising, sitting, wheelchairs and transfers, activities of dailiy living and sexuality. It also discusses the importance of the person's community participation

This manual explains the types, signs and causes of spina bifida and hydrocephalus describing how to assess the child’s level of development and complications. It gives suggestions on how to promote the child’s normal development, mobility, self-care and education with examples of equipment that can be made from local materials

This conference report assisted the development of guidelines on provision of manual wheelchairs in less-resourced settings for which training and education are key elements. It recommends the adoption of the wheelchair International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards as a minimum. This report is useful for government and non-government policy makers, practitioners, providers and users of wheelchair services

This policy paper describes Handicap International’s mandate and values in operational terms as applied to the theme of provision of wheeled mobility and positioning devices. It presents the approaches and references for Handicap International’s actions, choices and commitments. It aims to ensure coherence in terms of practices whilst taking into account different contexts. Essentially this is a guidance document for programme staff which defines the topic and outlines the target populations, methods of intervention (expected results, activities) and indicators for monitoring and evaluation. This policy aims to ensure that all projects carried out by Handicap International programmes are consistent with the methods of intervention presented
PP 09

This set of 33 manuals is a key training resource for CBR trainers and workers trying to improve the quality of life of disabled people living in developing countries. The manuals present the WHO model of CBR, comprised of a system of 'local supervisors' and a 'community rehabilitation committee'. The manuals address disabled people, school-teachers and families. They cover rehabilitation activities for all types of impairment, as well as training on cross-impairment issues such as breastfeeding, play, schooling, social integration and job placement

This wheelchair service training package is the second part of the WHO wheelchair service training package series and addresses the needs of people who have severe difficulties in walking and moving around and also having poor postural control. Special attention was given on the provision of appropriate wheelchairs for children who have poor postural control and are unable to sit upright independently. It is designed to support the training of personnel or volunteers to provide an appropriate manual wheelchair and cushion for children and adults who need additional postural support to sit upright
Note: A Trainers manual, Reference manual for participants, Participant’s workbook and Posters are available from the link above
Note: A DVD is available upon request which contains all the necessary forms and checklists; manuals and guides including the trainer’s manual; and sets of posters and presentations

This website has information about the work of Motivation; an organisation that works to address issues relating to the social, economic and physical situation of disabled people in low income countries, with the ultimate aim to improve quality of life, alleviate poverty and empower disabled people to take part in society. Motivation works in four areas: products and services; capacity; rights; and economic empowerment