World Physical Therapy Day - Malawi

The Physiotherapy Association of Malawi used World Physical Therapy Day 2008 as an opportunity to highlight the shortage of physiotherapists in Malawi.

In an interview with Nyasa Times, the Chair of the Association, Sylvia Kambalametore, said the deficit is due to the lack of a physiotherapy training school in the country. "Physiotherapy is a reasonably young profession in the country and because we don't have a training school in Malawi, there are only 30 physiotherapists, translating to one specialist per half a million people. This is not acceptable by any standards"

"It is evident that most Malawians, particularly in rural areas, are not accessing physiotherapy services. Even if they do, there are too few to ensure quality services as some healthcare workers don't know about physiotherapy and this has critically led to avoidable disabilities."

Read the full article published in Nyasa Times.