Exceed Worldwide

Exceed Worldwide, with partners, has established Schools of Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) in five countries in Southeast and South Asia – Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar. With the exception of the Philippines, our Schools train Prosthetist Orthotists to International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) Category 2 standards. The Philippines School trains students to ISPO Category 1 standard. In addition, our Cambodian School trains P&O technicians. This course has been recommended for ISPO Category 3 accreditation and is awaiting certification. Exceed works closely with ISPO to gain and maintain international accreditation standards and all of our P&O schools work closely with key partners, including government ministries, institutions of third-level education disabled persons’ organisations and other NGOs, to ensure that programme curricula comply with national standards and that graduates of P&O schools are recognised as health care professionals who can be integrated in national health systems. Places at our first, internationally-acclaimed school in Cambodia (established in 1994) are offered to students from other lower and middle income countries and this school will offer a course at ISPO Category 1 level from 2021. DEVELOPING CLINICAL SERVICES Courses at each P&O school focus on theory and practice, with a strong emphasis on practical training in teaching clinics which emphasise the importance of establishing and delivering care to national and international standards. Exceed P&O centres provide high quality, free or very low cost physical rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. ADVOCACY We work at grass roots level with teachers, community leaders and families to encourage understanding of the needs and abilities of children and adults with disabilities and promote their inclusion in local communities and society in general. We also collaborate with national and international resource holders and policy makers, including national governments, ISPO and WHO, to ensure that equal rights and the inclusion of persons with disability is high on the agenda. COMMISSIONING ACTION-BASED RESEARCH Lack of hard data and high quality research on the impact of disability, the needs of people with disabilities and the design, development and assessment of support services is a critical issue. To address this well-documented research and data deficit, Exceed has founded and co-ordinates the Exceed Research Network (ERN), an international research consortium involving universities, NGOs, P&O businesses and eminent social, P&O and engineering researchers and practitioners from these sectors. ERN is a young organisation, but Network partners are already carrying out applied research to address a range of P&O and disability issues. OFFERING COMMUNITY-BASED REHABILITATION Exceed Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) activities reflect ISPO and WHO guidelines. Our community teams focus on the identification of people with disabilities who need support, referral for treatment at Exceed centres and follow-up support. This support enables children, young people and adults with disability to access education and training, gain employment or start small businesses. We also work with community projects that directly address poverty and the exclusion of people with disabilities from mainstream development assistance. DEVELOPING NEW APPROACHES TO SERVICE PROVISION 80% of those who need P&O services do not have access to them. Resources are scarce and Exceed believes that the future provision and expansion of P&O services to an adequate level will depend on creative co-operation between governments, the private sector, NGOs and donors to develop new service models. Exceed believes that social enterprise (a business that uses its profits for social impact) will play an important role in this mix and has launched Exceed Social Enterprises as a vehicle to access private wealth to support charitable services.