A review of the consensus conference on appropriate prosthetic technology in developing countries

The conference Sixty-three individuals, representing 37 agencies and units, together with 16 resource persons, accepted invitations to attend and these were joined by 15 professionals working in prosthetic units in Cambodia — making a total of 94 participants from 27 countries. Those agencies and units providing prosthetic service had been asked to present a paper describing their service provision in terms of: the numbers of amputees and levels of amputation fitted; staffing levels, including grades and training; fitting and prosthetic technology used; unit costs, durability and repairability; evaluation of service; and arrangements for transfer to local providers of service. Others were invited to speak on component availability, assessment and evaluation of programmes and education and training. Most participants arrived in Phnom Penh on Sunday 4th June 1995 in time to attend a welcome reception in the Cambodia Sharaton hotel attended by the US Ambassador. The conference was held in the conference centre of the National Paediatric Hospital, and was formally opened on Monday 5th June by His Excellency Dr. Hong Theme, Under Secretary of State for Social Affairs, Labour and Veterans Affairs of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Other speakers in the opening session were Mr Robert Porter, US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission: Mr Loyd Feinberg, Manager, War Victim's Fund of USAID; Mr Joel Vanderburg,