650 People with Disabilities to Receive Free Prosthetic Arms and Legs Through Jaipur Foot Project

With grant assistance from the Government of the Republic of India, the “Jaipur Foot” project has launched a program to provide prosthetic arms and legs to 650 individuals with disabilities free of charge. Running from September 25 to November 9, 2024, the project is being implemented at the Rehabilitation Center for Children with Disabilities in Sonsgolon, where experts from India are working to fit prosthetics for 15 individuals per day.

 

The Jaipur Foot project, initiated in 1975, has been a global humanitarian effort, providing prosthetic limbs to over 2.2 million people with disabilities across 45 countries. Mongolia is the latest country to join the initiative. At the opening ceremony, Mr. Satish Chand Mehta, Jaipur Foot Project Team Leader, Head of Bhagwan Mahaveer Vikland Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), emphasized the continuous improvement of prosthetic technology and offered to share expertise with Mongolia’s prosthetics and orthopedics professionals.

 

In Mongolia, there are approximately 111,200 people with disabilities, over 21,000 of whom face mobility challenges. The Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Protection is currently drafting laws to support individuals with disabilities, including the Law on the Rights of People with Disabilities, the Law on Accessibility and Inclusion, and the Law on Independent Living and Rehabilitation Services. These laws aim to address the challenges related to assistive technology and prosthetics.

 

While prosthetics generally need to be replaced every 3-4 years, individuals with disabilities often face significant barriers to accessing rehabilitation services due to high fees and delays in funding from the Social Welfare Fund. In response, the Ministry is working to enhance the types, availability, and affordability of prosthetics and orthopedic devices provided through the fund, also focused on upgrading prosthetic production equipment and introducing new technologies.

 

The project involves a large team of over 60 individuals from the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Protection, the Embassy of Republic of India to Mongolia, the Ministry of Health, the General Department of Development of People with Disabilities, the Rehabilitation Center for Children with Disabilities, the Rehabilitation, Education, and Production Center, and the India-Mongolia Health Cooperation Center.