BUJUMBURA, October 10th (ABP) – On the occasion of World Physiotherapy Day, celebrated each year on September 8, the Managing Director of the Professional physical therapy center , Déo Ndayishimiye, held a press conference in Bujumbura on the afternoon of Monday October 7, 2024, to report on the center’s achievements and future prospects.
Coinciding that year with the center’s fifth anniversary, Ndayishimiye announced that the center had organized three activities to mark the occasion. On September 27, 2024, for example, there was a scientific workshop aimed at improving the quality of care, and an opportunity to highlight what can be improved, especially in terms of patient orientation and routing. On October 12, 2024, a field day will be held in the public gardens, under the theme “Let’s fight back pain together”.
He explained that that theme was not chosen at random. Most of the patients treated at the center suffer from back-related pathologies, he said. According to Ndayishimiye, that day will also be an opportunity to treat those patients free of charge and to support the elderly.
According to Ndayishimiye, the 3rd and final day will be devoted to celebrating the center’s 5th anniversary, with a scientific workshop on back pain.
On the subject of the center’s achievements, he pointed out that since its creation in 2019, the center had focused on physiotherapy for the elderly and also oriented itself in the direction of finding a speech therapist, staff capacity building or we organized many scientific workshops to first build the capacity of the center’s care staff. The center has also focused on pre- and post-natal physiotherapy, with particular emphasis on supporting pregnant women with emotional first aid and speech therapy (language and digestive disorders). Ndayishimiye points out that a service has been set up for people with stroke-related after-effects, language disorders and those in need of intensive rehabilitation.
In the five years of its existence, the center has developed the orthopedic fitting department, where prosthoses, orthoses and other devices required for rehabilitation are manufactured.
On the subject of future prospects, he mentioned that we aim to develop the Professional Kinesitherapy Center in three stages. The first will be to further equip the center, because there is a lack of geographical and financial accessibility for patients who come from the interior of the country for treatment. There is also a need for on-site radiography and ultrasound for the medical imaging department,” he says.
The second component is a framework where patients get together to contribute a loyalty card to help a person who has no means of obtaining treatment.
The third component, he continued, is to extend the services of the Professional Physiotherapy Center throughout the country, so that patients can benefit from treatment without having to spend a lot of money, especially on travel and accommodation.
Since its creation, the center has faced several major challenges. One of the main problems lies in the distinction between physiotherapy and relational massage, which has generated an urgent need for awareness-raising within the community itself. Another significant challenge is the lack of qualified staff.
In addition, the center faces obstacles in establishing partnerships with mutual insurance companies. It is crucial to explain to insurers the importance of physiotherapy within the framework of mutuality to ensure that patients have access to that essential care without financial barriers.
Note that the center sees around 60 patients a day, underlining the importance of improving its services and resources to effectively meet that growing demand.