Product Narrative: Prostheses (French)
Product Narratives
The Product Narratives are key elements of our AT2030 objectives, helping to identify opportunities for AT2030 and others to test innovative models of what works to improve access to Assistive Technology with the potential to reach scale, through innovative products, new service delivery models and local capacity.
These reports will be also foundational in informing ATscale's activities and investments in line with Objective II of ATscale Strategy Overview to identify and invest in interventions required to shape markets and overcome supply and demand-side barriers for priority AT.
We look forward to engaging with partners interested in aligning their activities with the proposed strategic approach to enable the sector to collaboratively unlock potential to reach those most in need.
These reports were developed by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) under the AT2030 programme in support of the ATscale Strategy.
Prostheses
While about 1.5 million people undergo amputations every year, WHO estimates that only 5-15% of amputees who need prosthetic devices in LMICs have access to them. High prices of prosthetic services in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), combined with high indirect costs for users (for example to travel to service points), make prosthetic services unaffordable to many of the people who need them.
Prosthetic services can be made more affordable by: 1) increasing the number of service units (in particular, by leveraging decentralised service models and the innovative technologies that enable them); 2) establishing reimbursement schemes that encapsulate all costs to the user; and 3) leveraging alternative forms of financing for both capacity-building and user financing.
An opportunity exists to transform access to prosthetic services and products in LMICs, but this will require a coordinated effort between: 1) governments to expand service capacity; 2) global stakeholders to provide guidance on products and technologies; 3) suppliers to expand market presence and offerings; and 4) donors to support these activities.
Five strategic objectives are proposed to accelerate access to prosthetic services in LMICs:
• Develop foundational datasets to inform the investment case for prosthetic services and guide the development of standards.
• Support countries to define appropriate policies and invest in the key requirements of a functioning prosthetic provisioning system.
• Accelerate market validation and adoption of innovative technologies that can simplify, decentralise, and lower the cost of prosthetic service provision.
• Accelerate the uptake of affordable, quality prosthetic components by increasing market transparency to empower buyers to make value-based purchasing decisions.
• Strengthen regional supply mechanisms to increase affordability and availability of quality prosthetic components
Feedback
We would also appreciate receiving ongoing feedback and comments on these documents. To provide your feedback on the prostheses document and/or to indicate interest in participating in consultations with CHAI, please use the following link.
To learn more about the AT2030 programme, please write to Rosa Salazar at rosa.salazar@ucl.ac.uk. For questions on ATscale, please write to Alison End Fineberg, Director of ATscale, at alison@atscale2030.org.
Cite as: Liao et al. (2020), Product Narrative: Prostheses (French), AT2030 programme & ATscale Global Partnership for Assistive Technology. Available at: https://at2030.org/pn-prostheses-french/