Strategic Planning in Cambodia

A week of strategic thinking, discussion and planning about the future development of Exceed and the Prosthetic and Orthotic sector in Southeast Asia has taken place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Dr David Boone, Chair Exceed Board of Trustees and Board members Dan Blocka and Stephen Blatchford joined members of Exceed's management team, from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and the UK, to review short- and long-term challenges and opportunities around international development and the sustainable development of Prosthetic and Orthotic education and services.

The programme included engagement with key partners including Cambodia's Ministry of Health; Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation; the International Committee of the Red Cross; Mine-Ex Stiftung of Switzerland and ACCESS 2, a programme supported by the Australian Government focused on improving access to quality and inclusive services for persons with disabilities and survivors of gender-based violence in Cambodia.

The international development world has changed. Many wealthy, western hemisphere countries have reduced support for lower income countries, making it much harder for development organisations - like Exceed - to get the funds needed to do their job. However, this strategic planning event proved its value by developing a well-defined path forward for Exceed, demonstrating that well-intentioned discussion, partnership, cooperation and innovation can overcome challenges, to ensure that people with disabilities continue to receive the high quality support services they need.

P&O professionals trained by Exceed have supported 3 million people with disabilities across 30 lower income countries.

Losing mobility, through limb loss or other reasons, can have devastating social and economic impacts, dramatically limiting access to work, social interaction, livelihood and independence. In poorly resourced countries, treatment and support services are not available to the vast majority of those who need them and these challenges are amplified.

The Exceed organisation has worked in Southeast Asia since 1989, to support people with disabilities, restore mobility and enable dependents to become independent contributors to society by:

Equipping – our NGO, Exceed Worldwide, trains local Prosthetic and Orthotic (P&O) professionals to provide high quality services.

Enabling – Exceed Worldwide provides accessible services for the most disadvantaged and supports people with disabilities in their communities to access education, training, employment or self-employment.

Empowering – advocating for disability rights and using research by the Exceed Research Network to find innovative ways to increase access to sustainable P&O services based on patients’ preferences and choices.

Research & innovation - comes from listening to patients and the P&O workforce and being aware of wider social and economic trends. Feedback from research has led to the launch of Exceed Social Enterprises and public private partnerships, which offers P&O patients choice and creates sustainable funding streams to support service provision for the most disadvantaged and increase access to services for all.

In countries where 90% of those who need P&O support cannot access services, the future is about new thinking and innovation. A growing P&O sector will come from a developing mix of philanthropic, private and public services and partnerships and Exceed is leading the way.