WHO estimates that about 10% of the world‘s population live with a disability 80% of whom live in low income countries. Most are poor & have limited or no access to rehabilitation services. Most basic rehabilitation activities can be carried out in the disabled person’s own community using local resources. It is essential to find the right balance between medical & social needs of people with disability in developing countries and provide rehabilitation in the setting most appropriate to their requirements at the lowest cost possible.

Rationale:

India and many other less resourced countries are coping with a gap - between the need and the availability of rehabilitation services and the right kind of human resources in the rehabilitation sector. With most trained professionals preferring to work in national and state level there are few who would work at the district or taluk level.

To avail rehabilitation solutions people with disabilities would require interventions of Physiotherapists/ Occupational Therapists. As per the WHO’s strategy of Community Based Rehabilitation for equalization of opportunity, poverty reduction and social inclusion of people with disabilities it is important to have personnel having the training to work and implement knowledge and skill in the community settings.

Findings show that there were minimal therapy services. As a solution to develop and strengthen services in India & in other less resourced countries, Mobility India developed a 1 yr course for Rehabilitation Therapy Assistants.

The Rehabilitation Therapy Assistant program has been designed to prepare and formally train individuals to work in partnership with, and under the direction of, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists.

The Program was first offered at Mobility India in 2002, and has been granted Accreditation Status by the Rehabilitation Council of India (a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt of India) since its beginning in 2002.  

Almost 80 students from different parts of India (rural and urban) and Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Angola, Bangladesh and Nigeria have been trained by Mobility India’s skilled faculty till date.

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