Posts tagged Rehabilitation

Sustained care critical for Gaza’s child amputees

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Mohammed Akram Abu Aker longs for a functional prosthesis that will allow him to run and play football without crutches. Photo Credit: ©Courtesy of Mohammed’s parents.

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 10.06.2026 (SciDev.Net): Thousands of children in Gaza, who have undergone amputations during the war, need their prostheses modified, repaired or replaced every six to 12 months or sooner, as they grow. But with healthcare services severely strained and rehabilitation resources scarce to non-existent, specialists and aid organisations warn that young amputees face an uncertain future without sustained access to the care they need.

Eight-year-old Mohammed Akram Abu Aker’s right leg was severed in June 2025 by shrapnel from an artillery shell, just as he and his family were attempting to flee following an Israeli airstrike on a neighbour’s house in Gaza. The shrapnel penetrated multiple parts of his body, causing extensive wounds.

About 10,000 children have sustained life-changing injuries in Gaza since October 2023, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). One in five out of more than 5,000, who have undergone limb amputations, is a child.

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Jeyaraj Pandian: The silent epidemic of Stroke needs attention to prevent long-term disabilities

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By Neena Bhandari

Since childhood Jeyaraj Pandian aspired to be a doctor. His paternal grandfather was a Legalised Medical Practitioner, as they were called before India’s independence. Whenever, he visited his ancestral home Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, his grandma would show him his grandfather’s medical kit, intact with a stethoscope, syringes and basic first aid equipment, which was securely kept as a treasured heirloom.

He chose to follow his childhood passion and enrolled in Tirunelveli Medical College (Madurai Kamaraj University), Tamil Nadu. He then completed his residency from the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Ludhiana [Punjab] and did his post-graduation in Internal Medicine. It was while doing his Master’s that he did a thesis in Neurology and that really kindled his interest in the discipline.

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