The International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2023
The World Health Organisation estimates that more than one billion people of the world's population experience some form of disability. Around 16% of this is attributed to disability due to armed conflict.
This weekend marks the 29th year of celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The theme for the 2023 International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD) is: "United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities".
Experts estimate that 11 percent of the global burden of disease measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) could be treated with surgery.
A rough estimate is that 20% of all wounded (or a number about equal to the number killed) will require reconstructive surgery of some sort. Limb fractures, disfigured faces, and burned skin are common in conflict. These complex injuries and disabilities of war, which may persist for decades, require longer hospital stays, more operations and support. It places pressures on the injured, their families, and healthcare providers when left untreated.
Ahmad was referred to Swisscross when he was only one-years-old. He had suffered severe burns and amputation of the foot and hand after a missile attack on his home in Syria. Our surgeons and healthcare providers have been providing surgical care to Ahmad for the last two years so that he is able to walk with a prosthesis and can move his body without limitation due to burn contractures.
Swisscross is an independent and impartial humanitarian non-profit organization focusing on Humanitarian Reconstructive Surgery. We provide complex surgery to vulnerable communities and support and train frontline healthcare communities affected by war. In 2021 we launched the Centre of Excellence for Complex Care in Erbil, Kurdistan, a region which houses 90% of Iraq’s refugees and displaced communities.
Generously supported by UAE AID, Swisscross mobilizes local and global teams to provide reconstructive surgery, much of which is disability-reversing surgery. Surgery which is life-changing, allowing patients to rebuild and recover from injuries which have left them unable to feel a part of their community, unable to work and thrive in their daily lives.
A missile left Salih with a severely fractured and deformed leg when he was only five. He was referred to Swisscross, where he received the first free-tissue transfer surgery, which allowed him to run for the first time in five years.
Our specialists and healthcare workers at the Swisscross Centre, based at Zheen International Hospital have screened, assessed and diagnosed thousands of patients and completed over 400 surgical interventions since we opened in September 2021. Many of our interventions have provided disability-reversing surgical care.
Our work in the field has always reflected this year’s theme of IDPWD. We are and have been "United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities".
In the last 2 years, we have seen first-hand the impact of surgical interventions on refugees and vulnerable communities living in camps and host communities in the region. Swisscross’ Centre has provided proof of concept in addressing disability and the long-term impact surgical intervention has on families and the wider community; physically, mentally, socially, and economically.
With our model of working with host communities, grassroot organizations and directly with patients with disabilities we hope to inspire the next generation of humanitarians in creating a pathway for effective, compelling and focussed surgical care.
This International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we will celebrate the strength, resilience and contributions of persons with disabilities in Kurdistan and worldwide.
