I was struck with an intense searing heat followed by a wet sensation over my foot. I looked down and saw the top three-quarters of my right foot hanging almost parallel to my heel by a flap of skin and boot leather — that is when the pain started.
It has been three and a half years, over a dozen surgeries, and hundreds of hours of physical therapy since a terrorist-thrown grenade took my right leg. Now I walk around the 40-acre University of Texas campus without a noticeable limp, thanks to my physical therapists and the latest in prosthetic technology. As an amputee, I am one of the lucky ones because I have access to the best prosthetics money can buy at no cost to me.
For those lucky enough to have a knee, the average prosthetic costs between $3,000 and $5,000. For others not so fortunate, the price jumps to over $10,000 on average, and that is without the bells and whistles (motorized knees, rotational feet, shocks, etc.). These numbers pale in comparison to the price of my “Renegade 2” foot which costs more than the average below-knee prosthetic leg. The grand total for my entire below-knee prosthetic is over $12,000, or three times greater than a basic below-knee prosthetic. There is no way I, a middle-class American, could pay for this without help from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, so how are people in the developing world supposed to pay for prosthetics?
There is a staggering number of amputees in the developing world. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that the earthquake in Haiti resulted in 2,000 to 4,000 amputees. Wars across the Middle East and Africa leave many people without limbs due to explosions, infected gunshot wounds and mutilation. Darfur has as many as 35,000 wounded, according to the ICRC, and a great deal of those are amputees. Industrial accidents also claim the limbs of people in the developing world, due to the lack of proper safety procedures and medical care. Annually, hundreds of thousands fall victim to natural disasters, wars and industrial accidents, most of whom are in the developing world and do not have the thousands of dollars required for a basic prosthetic device.
Many non-governmental organizations provide prosthetics to the developing world, such as the Prosthetic Outreach Foundation, Handicap International and the ICRC. These groups understand that a prosthetic limb is not just a mobility device but also an aid to a basic human right — the right of each individual to work. Without access to adequate medical facilities and little to no access to healthcare, many amputees in the developing world cannot perform basic tasks necessary to provide for themselves or their families without a prosthetic. NGOs that provide prosthetics provide an important and necessary service and need continuing funding long after the event that caused the amputations have left public view.
Little can be done to bring down prosthetic prices. Prosthetists are cutting costs where they can but prosthetic devices have a high fixed cost. The majority of prosthetic manufacturing costs come from the materials used in fabrication, research and development costs and industry knowledge accessible only to a small group. Cheaper substitute materials are not an option because their use would cause the prosthetic device to have a shorter life span, increasing the number of devices needed over an individual’s lifetime, and costing more in the long term.
The amputee’s struggle in the developing world is not going away and is getting worse. The average amputee needs a new prosthetic every five to 10 years because prosthetics wear out, and body composition changes. Children go through more prosthetics because their bodies change faster than adults’ do. NGOs that provide prosthetics require funding to keep up with the demand of the developing world.
I am fortunate because I have access to the latest in prosthetic innovation and access to first class medical facilities. I am able to lead a normal life because I have a prosthetic limb. While the eyes of the world are on the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, NGOs that provide prosthetics for amputees must gather financial support and raise global awareness about the lifelong costs associated with amputations. By not providing sustainable funding for NGOs, the world risks sentencing amputees to a life where they are immobile and unable to provide for themselves, exponentially increasing the amount of international aid developing countries will require in the future.