The Palestinian Ambassador to India has called on New Delhi to locate a planned artificial limb fitment centre in Gaza, highlighting the urgent need for prosthetic rehabilitation among thousands of people who have undergone amputation.
Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh said more than 5,000 people in Gaza are currently in desperate need of artificial limbs, as the territory’s healthcare and rehabilitation infrastructure faces extraordinary pressure following the conflict.
The appeal comes as India and Palestine move forward with a wider programme of development and humanitarian assistance that includes healthcare infrastructure, rehabilitation and vocational training.
India commits to an artificial limb fitment centre
India announced in July that it would establish three major development projects in Palestine: a specialty hospital, an artificial limb fitment centre and a vocational training institute. The announcement was made by External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar during the launch of India’s campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2028–29.
The Palestinian ambassador has now urged India to ensure that the artificial limb facility is established in Gaza rather than the West Bank.
Speaking to ANI, Abu Shawesh said the need for prosthetic services is particularly urgent in Gaza and expressed confidence that India would support the project there when circumstances allow.
The request adds a significant rehabilitation dimension to India’s wider assistance programme and places prosthetic and orthotic care directly within discussions about post-conflict healthcare reconstruction.
India already has experience delivering prosthetic care in Palestine
The proposed centre would build on an existing history of Indian-supported prosthetic rehabilitation programmes in Palestine.
In July 2023, the Government of India worked with Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), Jaipur, to organise an Artificial Limb Fitment Camp at the Abu Rayya Rehabilitation Center in Ramallah.
The camp was expected to benefit approximately 600 Palestinians and provided artificial limbs as part of India’s development assistance programme.
The experience is particularly relevant today because it demonstrates that India already has a model for delivering large-scale prosthetic intervention in partnership with Palestinian rehabilitation services.
The challenge in Gaza, however, is considerably larger.
Beyond supplying artificial limbs
For the prosthetic and orthotic profession, the proposed centre raises an important question: how can prosthetic care be delivered sustainably when the surrounding healthcare infrastructure has been severely disrupted?
A successful centre would need to provide considerably more than finished artificial limbs.
Patients require assessment, clinical decision-making, casting or scanning, socket fabrication, alignment, component selection, fitting and rehabilitation. They also need follow-up care, repairs and adjustments as their residual limb and functional requirements change.
This makes local clinical capacity critical.
A permanent artificial limb centre could therefore become an opportunity not only to fit prostheses but also to train Palestinian prosthetists, orthotists, technicians and rehabilitation professionals, establish appropriate workshop infrastructure and develop systems for long-term patient follow-up.
For Bharat CPO readers, this is an important reminder that prosthetic rehabilitation is fundamentally a healthcare service rather than simply a product-delivery exercise.
The role of Indian expertise
India has developed significant experience in delivering comparatively affordable prosthetic solutions at scale.
BMVSS, one of the world’s largest organisations providing prosthetic and orthotic rehabilitation, has played an important role in India’s international humanitarian prosthetic programmes. Its Jaipur Foot model has been used in numerous countries and humanitarian settings.
The 2023 Palestinian fitment camp demonstrated the potential of combining Indian clinical expertise, prosthetic technology and humanitarian diplomacy to reach a large number of beneficiaries within a defined programme.
A permanent centre in Gaza could take this concept further by creating a more continuous rehabilitation pathway.
It could also provide an opportunity for Indian manufacturers, CPOs, prosthetic technicians, rehabilitation specialists and training institutions to contribute to capacity building alongside government and humanitarian organisations.
Rehabilitation must be part of reconstruction
The scale of the reported need means that prosthetic rehabilitation will inevitably form part of the wider healthcare reconstruction challenge.
India has said that its development assistance to Palestine includes humanitarian aid and development projects, with its overall assistance reaching approximately US$175 million according to the Palestinian ambassador’s comments.
Alongside the proposed artificial limb centre, India is supporting plans for a specialty hospital and vocational training institute.
That combination is particularly significant.
Healthcare infrastructure can address immediate medical needs, while prosthetic rehabilitation can help people regain mobility and independence. Vocational training can then support longer-term participation in education, employment and community life.
Together, these interventions represent a more comprehensive approach to rehabilitation than prosthetic provision alone.
An opportunity for the Indian P&O community
The proposed Gaza centre could also demonstrate the wider contribution that India’s prosthetic and orthotic sector can make internationally.
India has a large and diverse P&O community, significant manufacturing capabilities and extensive experience in delivering cost-conscious rehabilitation solutions.
As reconstruction and humanitarian programmes develop, there may be opportunities for Indian CPOs, technicians, manufacturers, academic institutions and NGOs to contribute through:
- Prosthetic and orthotic clinical services
- Technician and clinician training
- Workshop design and equipment
- Locally appropriate component manufacturing
- Digital scanning and CAD/CAM technologies
- Rehabilitation and gait training
- Maintenance and repair programmes
- Clinical education and knowledge exchange
The key will be ensuring that any intervention is designed around long-term patient care and local capacity, rather than short-term device distribution.
Prosthetic rehabilitation as a foundation for recovery
The Palestinian request to establish the artificial limb centre in Gaza places rehabilitation firmly within the conversation about recovery.
For the thousands of people who have lost limbs, an artificial limb can be an important first step — but meaningful rehabilitation requires much more: skilled clinicians, appropriate technology, follow-up, physiotherapy, psychosocial support and opportunities to return to education, work and family life.
India’s existing experience in Palestine provides a foundation on which a larger programme could potentially be built.
For India’s prosthetic and orthotic community, the proposed centre also offers an opportunity to demonstrate how affordable technology, clinical expertise and capacity building can work together to support rehabilitation in one of the world’s most challenging environments.
The success of such a project will ultimately be measured not by the number of artificial limbs delivered, but by the number of people who are able to regain mobility, independence and participation in everyday life.
- Awaz The Voice – Palestinian envoy asks Delhi to set up artificial limb center in Gaza
- All India Radio – Palestine welcomes India’s decision to establish three development projects
- WAFA – India-Palestine Artificial Limb Fitment Camp, 2023
- Government of India – Representative Office in Ramallah
- Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS)