Prosthetic and Orthotic Charities

In much of sub-Saharan Africa, prosthetic services remain chronically underfunded. Government support is minimal, and local markets for affordable prosthetic technology are virtually non-existent. The result? Millions of people living with limb loss are left without mobility, independence, or inclusion. Not because solutions are unavailable, but because they remain out of reach.

At STAND, we exist to change that, not by becoming a permanent fixture, but by acting as a catalyst.

Our model is simple but transformative

We recover high-quality prosthetic components destined for landfill in the Global North, refurbish them, and deliver them free of charge to rehabilitation centres in low-income countries. But this is just the beginning.

We strengthen clinics. We mentor local prosthetists. We support emotional rehabilitation and invest in upgrading essential infrastructure. We create space for innovation and help lay the groundwork for future, affordable markets to thrive.

Our work is not about fostering dependency. It’s about restoring dignity. Our ultimate goal is to become unnecessary, to step away having helped build sustainable, locally led prosthetic ecosystems that can stand on their own.

How the industry can shape the future of STAND

For over a decade, STAND has been primarily supported by family foundations. But that funding landscape is shifting, and the urgency of our mission has never been greater. That’s why we’re opening our doors to a new kind of partnership.

We’re inviting a small group of strategic partners from the prosthetics industry to join us in shaping a more equitable future. As a partner, you will:

1. Play a direct role in reducing medical waste while expanding access to mobility.
2. Receive tailored impact reporting, branded storytelling assets, and meaningful employee engagement opportunities.
3. See every £1 you contribute matched by public funders, doubling your impact.
4. Help foster the emergence of sustainable, affordable prosthetics markets.

STAND isn’t just shipping components. We’re building bridges, between excess and need, between potential and reality. And with the right partners, we can scale this work, strengthen clinical capacity, and ultimately make ourselves redundant.

That, we believe, is the true measure of success.

Please also see a link to our recent posters:  Clinic Posters We’ve also attached a poster that highlights the incredible impact our community has achieved together over the past decade.

How You Can Help:

• Please continue to signpost amputees and their families to Steel Bones for practical support and community connection.
• Share our information with colleagues who may benefit from knowing about these resources.
• Let us know if there are gaps or opportunities where we can collaborate more closely with health professionals to improve patient outcomes.

Together, we can make a real difference in ensuring amputees and their families feel supported, connected, and empowered.

At the Limbless Association (LA), we believe no amputee need cope alone. Established since 1983, we offer both practical and emotional support for amputees throughout their pre and post-amputation journey.

We understand that navigating the complexities of limb loss can be completely overwhelming.

That’s why we believe that with an early intervention approach, we can provide useful, easy to access information and advice as well as supporting and connecting amputees, their families and carers.

500 miles is a very small Scottish charity which was registered in 2007.  It does take its name from the Proclaimers’ famous lyrics – “I would walk 500 miles” – because we try to get people in Malawi, and a little in Zambia, who have lost legs – or the use of their legs – up and walking.  In the here and now, we do this every day by helping them to get access to and to afford prostheses and orthoses through our One Smile fund (https://www.500miles.co.uk/ways-to-support-us/one-smile/) – but in order to leave a legacy for future generations, 500 miles has also established two centres in Malawi which manufacture and prescribe these devices and we sponsor the training of local staff to international standards to work in these centres. 

People often assume that the way we operate is to send out to Africa second hand prostheses and orthoses. We don’t because that is not sustainable. We think it is actually counter-productive.  In short, Malawi and Zambia can’t afford to sustain a countrywide service using first world systems and sending out random bits and pieces of what we use here, on an irregular and unpredictable basis is just corrupting a service which should and could be available for all on an ongoing and sustainable basis. So, from the start, 500 miles has used and supported a low-cost system of manufacture to produce bespoke prostheses and orthoses in-country using locally available material as much as possible and only importing what we can’t buy locally. 

We believe that the work of 500 miles is highly effective in terms of (1) impact per pound, (2) numbers of disabled people who will benefit and (3) the huge transformation in the quality of people’s lives.  In Africa, for a relatively small, one-off sum, prosthetic and orthotic support can have a life transforming effect for a disabled individual giving that person the chance to be mobile and so get an education, earn a living, support a family and generally participate in social activity. 

The British Polio Fellowship is a UK-based charity dedicated to supporting individuals who have had polio and those living with post-polio syndrome (PPS). We provide advice, emotional and financial assistance, and operate a support telephone line for anyone coping with the long-term effects of polio, including muscle weakness, fatigue, and pain.

Our mission also involves raising public awareness about the ongoing impact of polio and securing funds to enhance the quality of life for survivors. Through local support groups, educational resources, and national campaigns, we focus on improving the well-being of our members.

Although the UK has not seen a new case of polio since 1993, around 50,000 people (approximately 80% of survivors) have begun experiencing new symptoms decades after their original infection. These may include severe fatigue, muscle weakness, pain, and in some cases, difficulties with sleep, breathing, swallowing, scoliosis, or joint issues.

The major polio outbreaks of the 1930s to 1950s, along with the emergence of PPS, have shaped the Fellowship’s ongoing work. Today, we continue to advocate for polio survivors through awareness campaigns and have developed a clinical pathway to help healthcare professionals better diagnose, manage, and care for those affected.