With a prevalence rate of 11.6%, St. Lucia has one of the highest rates of diabetes worldwide. This has led to a rise in the national incidence of associated complications, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) – nerve damage resulting from persistently high blood sugar levels, which, if left untreated, can lead to severe infection and ultimately limb amputation. In St. Lucia, as many as 99% of annual amputations have been related to this and other diabetes related complications.

As such, there is a need for access to affordable prostheses and repairs since most of those affected will not have the resources to travel for these services. The National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) of St. Lucia sought to fill this gap by establishing a prosthetic leg manufacturing service to afford persons with disabilities access to highly subsidized prosthesis and service in country. Officially opened on February 20th, 2019, the modern Prosthetic Rehabilitation and Repairs Centre (PRRC) undertakes the fabrication, fitting and repair of basic prosthetic limbs specially targeting the many poor and elderly citizens who are in desperate need of this vital service. The PRRC is staffed by amputees and users of prosthetic limbs who were specially trained by certified Prosthetists.

Under the Supporting the Rehabilitation and Repairs Center St Lucia Project, with the support of the Ministry of Equity and The Department of Economic Development (DoED), UNDP funded the procurement of materials and equipment valued at USD $45,554.45 for the restocking and upgrading of the center. A significant component of this project was the manufacturing of prosthetic legs at no cost for ten (10) Saint Lucians who were in dire need and who were unable to afford this vital mobility aid.

Timeline & Beneficiaries

The NCPD commenced the manufacturing of the prostheses on February 14th, 2022, and completed the final prosthesis on March 25th, 2022. 5 men and 5 women from across Saint Lucia are now the recipients of this vital mobility aid which allows them to walk again. There are four prosthetic leg technicians at the NCPD, three of whom use prosthetic legs themselves. Each prosthesis was worked on by a pair of technicians. Among the beneficiaries, nine of them required below knee prostheses and one required an above knee prosthesis.

In addition to the procurement of intrinsic materials and accessories for the construction and fitting of prosthetic legs, the project also procured vital pieces of heavy equipment to increase the capacity of the prosthetics centre and to modernize its operations.