“With this artificial limb I am like any other person. I can cook, fetch water and dig”-- Female victim, Gulu, Uganda

Physical rehabilitation supports victims in reclaiming their physical health and mobility, so they can take part once more in the life of their communities on their own terms. In post-conflict settings, it can be a powerful part of rebuilding the rhythms of everyday life.

Since 2008, the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC has supported physical rehabilitation for those who have suffered grave violations of bodily integrity, including mutilation. Among the most common injuries are burns and chronic wounds; the mutilation of ears, noses or lips; and the loss of limbs through deliberate amputation and landmine incidents.

The TFV works alongside local implementing partners so that beneficiaries can access prosthetics and fittings, specialist reconstructive and general surgery, the removal of bullet and bomb fragments, and physiotherapy. This has also included improving accessibility in civic buildings, and identifying, referring and arranging transport for beneficiaries who have survived sexual violence so they can reach fistula repair, HIV testing and treatment, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and other specialist care.

Working through its partners, the TFV has also supported professional training for orthopaedic technologists in a new limb-fabrication method (Swiss leg technology). This has strengthened local expertise and expanded rehabilitation services to more orthopaedic workshops, so that beneficiaries no longer need to travel long distances to have limbs repaired, fitted or replaced.

 

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Injuries and conditions addressed through the TFV's physical rehabilitation work include:

  1. Reconstructive plastic surgery for facial, head and burn injuries
  2. Prosthetic devices (fitting and repairs)
  3. Physiotherapy
  4. Orthotic devices and related services
  5. Orthopaedic surgery
  6. Health services (physical and mental) for all people — women, men and children — who have survived sexual violence
  7. Corrective surgery to remove foreign objects (bullets and shrapnel)
  8. Relief of post-burn contractures, corrective surgery and physiotherapy
  9. Mobility and recuperative therapy (burns)
  10. Community mobilisation initiatives led with beneficiaries
  11. Establishing and maintaining referral links with trusted providers for post-operative care and follow-up

The change beneficiaries describe as most significant is being able to live their lives again — to make plans for the future, return to school and to their gardens, feel confident joining community gatherings, and regain their independence and self-reliance.