According to a statement from the government of the province of Luanda (GPL), which VerAngola had access to, the seven young people presented this prosthesis during an activity organized by Unicef in Luanda, as part of the celebration of International Youth Day, celebrated this Monday.
"The young orthopedists, engineers and product designers, aged between 18 and 22, say that they developed the project to help a school friend who lost his lower limbs", the statement reads.
In just six months, the statement adds, "the young people have already collected two awards", as they came first in the Angotic Innovation Area, as well as winning the award for Best Social Impact Project from the National Bank of Angola (BNA).
The group is currently working on a pilot project that is expected to benefit ten people.
"The group is currently working on a pilot project that will benefit 10 people, of which one is missing to complete the team. By 2025, the young inventors intend to produce 30 orthopedic prostheses", the statement reads.
'Princesa Diana' Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre increases prosthesis production to three times
Sabino Adão, director of the 'Princesa Diana' Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre, reported that, this year, the average monthly production of prostheses and orthoses at the centre has tripled, rising from 15 to 45, in order to better meet the needs of patients.
According to the director, quoted by Angop, the basis for this growth in the number of prostheses produced is the specific and ongoing training of professionals, aiming to offer an excellent service, as it is a hospital with teaching hospital status.
Sabino Adão also said that with these numbers the centre can provide a more effective response to patients, particularly victims of aviation and mine accidents, as well as those with traumatic injuries, among others.
The centre has four orthopedic engineers, eight technicians and six assistants. Speaking to Angop last Saturday, as part of the launch of the fifth anniversary of the centre located in Huambo, which will be celebrated on the 27th of next month, with the theme "Together for Integrated Rehabilitation", the official said that this number is still not enough considering the demand, as the unit has a minimum need for 30 engineers, 40 technicians and 20 assistants.
With 30 beds, the centre serves, on average, more than 25 thousand people per month, as well as employing 204 people in various specialties. According to Angop, the center was founded in 1979, at the time named Centro Ortopédico da Bomba Alta (COBA), and was inaugurated on 27 September 2019 by Prince Harry.
