IfeanHealth has expanded its prosthetics and orthotics training initiative, selecting scholars from Nigeria and Kenya for structured internships designed to bridge the gap between academic education and real-world clinical practice.
The latest phase of the IfeanHealth Scholarship and Scholar Programme will place five selected scholars in clinical and operational internships at the company’s facilities in Lagos and Enugu. The participants were chosen from 11 scholarship winners and will receive practical exposure, professional mentorship and experience across different areas of prosthetic and orthotic service delivery.
The inclusion of a scholar from Kenya also marks the programme’s growing reach beyond Nigeria and reflects IfeanHealth’s ambition to support a connected pipeline of rehabilitation professionals across Africa.
Moving from academic learning to clinical practice
Formal prosthetics and orthotics education gives students the theoretical knowledge and foundational skills required to enter the profession. However, graduates also need extensive practical experience to develop competence in patient assessment, prescription, casting, digital scanning, design, fabrication, fitting, alignment and long-term follow-up.
The IfeanHealth programme aims to provide this transition through supervised clinical placements and structured mentorship.
According to the company, the selected scholars will gain immersive experience within its clinical and operational environment in Lagos and Enugu. The placements are intended to expose participants not only to patient care, but also to the systems, teamwork and professional standards required to deliver reliable prosthetic and orthotic services.
This type of work-based learning can be particularly valuable for students who have had limited access to modern workshops, a wide range of clinical cases or experienced supervisors during their academic programmes.
Five scholars selected for internship placements
The five participants entering the internship phase were selected from 11 outstanding beneficiaries of the wider scholarship programme.
IfeanHealth Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ejike Anih said the initiative was shaped by his own professional experience as an alumnus of Abbott’s Management Development Program.
He described the programme as more than a national scholarship initiative, positioning it as a platform for developing rehabilitation talent across the continent. Scholars were encouraged to approach their placements with discipline, persistence, integrity and respect for patient confidentiality.
Programme Coordinator and Director of Strategic Partnerships and Impact Initiatives Eva James described the internship stage as a transition from selection to responsibility and from potential to performance.
The placements will combine mentorship, clinical exposure and professional development, helping participants understand how knowledge acquired in the classroom is applied within different healthcare and rehabilitation environments.
Addressing Africa’s rehabilitation workforce shortage
The initiative comes as countries across Africa continue to face major shortages of trained rehabilitation professionals.
The World Health Organization’s African regional strategy for rehabilitation states that no country in the region has the required number of rehabilitation personnel relative to its population. Services are often concentrated in major cities and remain particularly limited at primary care and community levels.
WHO has also identified a lack of qualified personnel as one of the principal barriers to developing comprehensive and affordable prosthetics and orthotics services. Patients require regular access to trained teams, equipped workshops and services connected to related areas such as rehabilitation, surgery and diabetic foot care.
Earlier global workforce estimates indicated that the number of practising prosthetics and orthotics professionals in the African Region was less than one-tenth of the level required to meet population needs.
Expanding the workforce therefore requires more than increasing the number of university places. Students and graduates also need access to quality clinical placements, experienced supervisors, appropriate technology and clear routes into employment.
Why structured internships matter
Prosthetics and orthotics is a highly practical profession. While classroom education provides essential knowledge, clinicians must also develop judgement through repeated exposure to patients with different diagnoses, anatomical presentations, mobility goals and social circumstances.
A structured internship can help emerging professionals develop skills in:
- Conducting comprehensive patient assessments.
- Translating prescriptions into practical device designs.
- Selecting suitable materials and components.
- Managing socket fit, alignment and pressure distribution.
- Communicating with patients and multidisciplinary teams.
- Maintaining accurate clinical records and confidentiality.
- Evaluating outcomes and providing follow-up care.
- Understanding workshop, inventory and service operations.
Exposure to the full service pathway is especially important because effective P&O care does not end when a device is delivered. Patients frequently require gait training, repairs, adjustments, replacement sockets and periodic clinical reassessment.
The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics states that education programmes must have the infrastructure and resources needed to develop students into competent entry-level practitioners capable of increasing access to quality services.
Building a continental professional network
Selecting beneficiaries from both Nigeria and Kenya gives the programme a wider regional dimension.
Cross-border education and professional exchange can allow students to compare clinical approaches, technologies and health-system challenges across different African countries. It can also create professional networks that continue after the formal internship has ended.
These relationships may become increasingly important as African rehabilitation providers seek to share expertise, develop regional training opportunities and reduce dependence on professionals recruited from outside the continent.
A connected workforce can also support knowledge transfer between established P&O centres and countries where services remain limited.
Employers have a role in workforce development
Universities cannot address Africa’s rehabilitation workforce shortage alone. Private companies, hospitals, rehabilitation centres, professional associations and non-governmental organisations also have an important role in developing the next generation of practitioners.
Employers can contribute by providing:
- Supervised internships and graduate placements.
- Access to functioning clinical and workshop environments.
- Mentoring by experienced prosthetists and orthotists.
- Continuing professional development.
- Exposure to digital and conventional manufacturing methods.
- Opportunities for employment after graduation.
The IfeanHealth programme demonstrates how an industry provider can combine scholarship support with practical training and professional mentorship.
However, placements must remain structured and educational. Interns should receive appropriate supervision, clear learning objectives and meaningful exposure to patient care rather than being treated primarily as additional workshop labour.
From training to sustainable employment
A key measure of the programme’s longer-term impact will be whether scholars progress into sustainable professional roles.
Africa needs more P&O graduates, but it also needs funded clinical positions, well-equipped workshops, career development pathways and sufficient patient demand supported by public or private financing.
Without these conditions, qualified graduates may leave the profession, move abroad or accept roles that do not use their specialist training.
Scholarships and internships are therefore most effective when they form part of a wider talent pipeline that connects education, practical training, professional regulation and employment.
By expanding its programme to include participants from Nigeria and Kenya, IfeanHealth is contributing to this pipeline and highlighting the importance of private-sector involvement in rehabilitation workforce development.
The initiative could also provide a model for other P&O companies across Africa, particularly those seeking to combine commercial growth with a measurable contribution to clinical capacity and access to rehabilitation services.
- Punch Healthwise: IfeanHealth expands prosthetics training initiative
- International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics
- ISPO Education Standards for Prosthetic and Orthotic Occupations
- ISPO-accredited education programmes
- WHO: Prosthetics and orthotics services
- WHO standards for prosthetics and orthotics
- WHO: Rehabilitation workforce
- IMEA CPO: P&O graduates need jobs, not only more training places