ICRC Provides Orthopedic Devices to Over 11,000 Afghans in First Half of This Year

In between, more than 2,000 people have received artificial legs through the orthopedic centers of the ICRC in the country.
“First six months of this year, we have registered 150,000 patients in seven orthopedic centers of the ICRC; most of them are the war-affected people,” said Shukrullah Zerak, a physiotherapist of the ICRC. 
Through its rehabilitation center, the ICRC manufactures over 20,000 artificial legs, arms, and other orthopedic devices every year. Over 80,000 physiotherapy sessions take place annually.
Years of conflict, violence and desperate hardships have made life difficult for the people in Afghanistan. Landmines in the country have robbed the ability of thousands of Afghans to do the most basic things like being able to move around freely in and with comfort.
“I was traveling from Farah [province] to Herat when a roadside mine exploded and made my life difficult,” explains Wali Khan who was unable to move his legs since last six months. “I was also wounded in a battle between pro-government forces and the Taliban. My two friends were martyred.”
Abdul Haq, who was walking with an artificial leg with the help of iron bars, said his family thought he is no longer alive after being wounded in a roadside mine explosion.
“I wish was dead so that I could not face the hardship in my life. I feel like a being a burden to others,” Haq said who was being under treatment at the ICRC’s Physical Rehabilitation Center in Kabul.
Abdullah, a staff member of ICRC who was paralyzed and was moving around with the help of a wheelchair at the center said: “It is hard to say. The world is meaningless when you lose part of your body.”