PESHAWAR:Maria Toro, Assistive Technology Advisor of Momentum Wells for Humanity, an American welfare organization for the welfare of the disabled, visited the Paraplegic Center Peshawar (PCP) in Hayatabad and met the patients suffering from spinal diseases there as well as assessed the needs of the centre.
A team from Relab HS, a consortium of five international NGOs, also accompanied her on the occasion. They included Ehab Al Khatab, Technical Advisor of Relab HS and Country Coordinator Waqar Qureshi.
Dr. Syed Muhammad Ilyas, CEO PCP, while briefing them, said that the Paraplegic Center Peshawar is the only and unique health institution in Pakistan and even in the region, where spinal cord injury and polio patients receive treatment along with complete physical, psychological and social rehabilitation.
All the facilities are provided free of cost, he added. He further told the team that all assistive devices including active wheelchairs are locally designed for the patients. The patients admitted here are provided with devices and supporting equipment according to their needs and physical structure while on the other hand, valuable foreign exchange is also saved.
Maria Toro also visited the Assistive Technology Program and Factory of PCP established in Hayatabad Industrial Area and made a detailed review of its various sections.
She was impressed by the excellent performance of the institute and the quality of the equipment manufactured there.
Expressing her views in the guest book, she wrote that “PCP is the best example of comprehensive physical rehabilitation and it can play the role of a model institution for all developing countries”. She assured all out cooperation from his organization and international consortium to make the center more active and dynamic.