Needs Assessment Survey Result for Alaska State Victim Assistance Academy

State Victim Assistance Academies (SVAA’s) offer coursework and training in victimology, victims’ rights, and victim services in order to meet the needs of victim service providers and allied professionals (Office for Victims of Crime). With state and federal funding, Victims for Justice began the development of a State Victim Assistance Academy for Alaska in 2008. An important first step in the development of a State Victim Assistance Academy is to conduct a needs assessment survey to identify the most important topics to include in coursework and training. This brief report highlights the results of the Alaska needs assessment survey conducted by the UAA Justice Center in 2009

Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Empowerment and Inclusion Division: Leahy War Victims Fund

Historically, the LWVF has devoted the major proportion of its resources to establishing and improving accessible and appropriate prosthetic, orthotic (P&O) and physical rehabilitation services. This is evidenced through its extensive investments in the establishment and maintenance of P&O workshops; promotion of professional training, standards, and accreditation for P&O technicians; and support for increased mobility and physical functioning in general

Caring for victims of torture: Lecture & reception with Professor Michael Grodin

A discussion with Professor Michael Grodin on caring for victims of torture

Friend-in-Need Society Jaipur Foot Project: A Review and Recommendations for Upgrading Prosthetic and Patient Care Services

In 1985, the Friend-in-Need Society (FINS) pioneered its Jaipur Foot Program to fill a need scarcely affected by government hospitals. Since 1991, USAID, through the Global Bureau’s Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF), has partnered with FINS to extend services to more than 6,000 amputees. Several small private organizations address the physical mobility needs of civilian amputees and other persons with physical disabilities, but the number of prosthetic devices they contribute is quite small compared to the number contributed by FINS, and the cost of their services is beyond the means of the average Sri Lankan. FINS, Sri Lanka’s oldest social service organization, remains the single largest provider of prosthetic and orthotic services in Sri Lanka. In 1999, FINS fit 1,402 artificial limbs to beneficiaries. Furthermore, new Jaipur Foot workshops in Batticaloa and unauthorized Jaipur Foot workshops in Mannar are springing up

Veterans International Technical and Medical Rehabilitation Support Services in Cambodia

Evaluates project to establish rehabilitation centers for people disabled by war in Cambodia. Interim evaluation covers the period 1996-10/01. Veterans International/Cambodia (VI/C) is the implementing agency. VI/C\u27s USAID-funded rehabilitation efforts are providing highly successful and valuable interventions for people with disabilities. The grant support has enabled people with amputations, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, polio, and a number of other pathologies to receive high-quality rehabilitation and prosthetic and orthotic services. Numerous patients have had significantly positive functional and social outcomes, with particularly good outcomes for patients with amputations and clubfeet, and good outcomes for those with polio and spinal cord injury. The quality of rehabilitation services for patients with cerebral palsy or for those who have suffered a stroke could be improved. Rehabilitation services are accessible to individuals with disabilities in three areas at the centers based in Phnom Penh, Kratie, and Prey Veng. An additional unit in the far North (Preah Vihear) is now self-supporting. The coordination of NGO rehabilitation services in Cambodia through the Disabilities Action Council (DAC) with a variety of subcommittees has been very effective in minimizing overlap among services and ensuring communication between NGOs

Assessment of Rehabilitation Services in Liberia

From January 15-25, 2000, a three-person, Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF) team, and the USAID/Liberia health officer conducted an assessment of fund activities in Liberia. The purpose of the assessment was to review the status of activities funded under the LWVF grant to UNICEF/Liberia, and to make recommendations concerning possible follow-on activities with additional funding from the War Victims Fund

Orthoprosthetic Technical Assessment of POWER’s Program in Mozambique

Evaluates project to develop a sustainable program to provide orthopedic assistance to Mozambicans disabled by civil war and its lingering after effects -- landmines. Evaluation covers the period 1998-4/02. In 1998, as a result of the establishment of a new unit within the Ministry of Health (MISAU), the Section of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (SMFR), and recommendations made in a USAID-sponsored evaluation, the program\u27s focus shifted from direct involvement in the management and administration of rehabilitation services to providing TA, long-term training opportunities and support to indigenous disability advocacy groups, with Prosthetic and Orthotic Worldwide Education and Relief (POWER) serving as contractor. The orthoprosthetic rehabilitation centers became the direct responsibility of the provincial and district hospitals in which they were located, and oversight was to be provided by the SMFR. Since that reorganization, the quality and quantity of prosthetic and orthotic services has rapidly declined. Production in the four main orthopedic centers has dropped by more than 51%. In the year 2000, only 309 prostheses were produced in the country, despite a conservative production capacity of more than 1,000 devices per year. The quality of fittings and workmanship has taken an equally startling turn for the worse. Orthopedic services are the responsibility of the MISAU, but they are given lower priority within the ministry compared with other important preventative and curative health issues. As a result, little interest is paid to these programs and scant resources are allocated for them. The challenges facing the rehabilitation sector in Mozambique are not unique. Although the MISAU must continue to play a crucial role in this health issue and service, orthoprosthetics will never be cost-effective enough for the government to absorb within its current health budget and manage within its existing structure. A number of alternative management, administrative, and financial structures have been attempted in other African countries. Several of the more successful options are based on public-private sector partnerships and oversight boards outside of the day-to-day management structure. It is incumbent upon the MISAU to conduct a controlled pilot program to examine the potential benefits of these models

Evaluation of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation Orthotics Training Project for Vietnam

VVAF has done a good job of establishing itself in the health care community in Vietnam. The deficiencies mentioned in this evaluation primarily pertain to the lack of supervision and training of orthotic technicians and physicians. VVAF is aware of the need to undertake a major overhaul of its Vietnam project in order to meet training obligations to the National Institute of Pediatrics and Bach Mai Hospitals. A focused effort should be undertaken over the next two years to enable Vietnamese personnel to develop the technical skills and leadership necessary to continue orthotic services when this grant ends

Programs for Vulnerable Populations Leahy War Victims Fund

Established in 1989, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF) works to increase the availability of and access to a wide variety of programs benefiting people with disabilities in conflict-affected countries

Uganda Prosthetic/Orthotic Needs Assessment - Leahy War Victims Fund Report

This report (1) assessed the present state of prosthetic and orthotic services in Uganda and what is needed to improve the quality, quantity, and sustainability of those prosthetic and orthotic services and (2) evaluated an unsolicited proposal submitted by the World Rehabilitation Fund Inc. (WRF)