At the end of May 2019, the “Supporting the development of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Burundi” programme organised a continuing professional development (CPD) training session for 25 physiotherapists from across Burundi. The participants included 14 men and 11 women.
These physiotherapists often treat patients who have been injured in a traumatic incident, most commonly road traffic accidents. There was therefore a high demand to enhance their knowledge of rehabilitation techniques.
The training was held at the National School of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, which is on the site of the National Institute of Public Health in Bujumbura. The school was established as part of the PM&R development programme, funded by APEFE and its Belgian cooperation partner. It opened its doors to the first intake of students on 15 April 2019.
The 25 physiotherapists in the CPD training session were therefore able to enjoy the school’s brand new classrooms and practical teaching rooms. The training took place over 5 days and was led by Jessy Iteka and Pierre Ndayishimiye, two Burundian physiotherapists from the National Reference Centre for Physiotherapy and Medical Rehabilitation, established in 2016 by the PM&R development programme at Bujumbura University Hospital.
All the participants valued the quality of the training they received, which has enabled them to make significant progress in this fundamental area of their profession. The five days of training came to a close with the trainees receiving certificates of participation, presented by Mr Eloge Mpundu, head of the PM&R department in the Ministry of Public Health and the Fight Against AIDS.
The next CPD training session is planned for the end of 2019 and will be on the topic of sports physiotherapy. An expert from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) in Belgium will be invited to deliver the training, which will be repeated and led by Burundian trainers a few months later.
This programme is implemented by APEFE and funded by Belgian Cooperation and Development.