Women who use prostheses, women who have chosen not to, women who have stopped and women still waiting for access will meet online this Saturday, 7 November, for She Moves, the second edition of the From Barriers to Breakthrough conversation series. They will be joined by clinicians who work alongside them, from Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa.
The free Zoom event starts at 1:00 pm West Africa Time (12:00 GMT, 2:00 pm in South Africa and Zambia, 3:00 pm in Kenya, 4:00 pm in the UAE). Registration is open now.
Why women, and why now
The series is led by Nigerian mobility and inclusion advocate Eva Chukwunelo, founder of ECII, TEDx speaker and Mandela Washington Fellow. Its first edition, which IMEA CPO covered in October, examined cost, rehabilitation, insurance and local production. Looking back, the organisers asked how many women’s voices had actually been in that room. “A prosthesis can exist. And a woman’s needs can still be left out of the conversation about it,” Chukwunelo wrote this week.
What will be discussed
Saturday’s conversation will cover the parts of prosthetic care that rarely appear in device specifications:
- pregnancy and motherhood, including changes in limb volume, weight and balance
- body image, clothing and identity
- work and economic participation
- insurance coverage, legal rights and policy
What participants say will be written up as a report with recommendations, intended to inform practice, advocacy and programmes after the event.
IMEA CPO Perspective
Prosthetic services in Africa are still often measured by fittings delivered. A device that is fitted but abandoned, or that cannot be adjusted during pregnancy, or worn with the clothes a woman chooses, is not a success. Women who have stopped using a prosthesis, or never started, are the group services hear from least, and they are invited this weekend. For prosthetists, orthotists and rehabilitation teams, an hour of listening is a low-cost way to learn where follow-up, socket review and patient education are falling short. The commitment to a written report with recommendations matters: it gives national P&O associations, training programmes and insurers something concrete to respond to. IMEA CPO will report on the findings when they are published.
Event details
- Event: She Moves – From Barriers to Breakthrough, Edition 2
- Date: Saturday 7 November 2026
- Time: 1:00 pm WAT
- Venue: Zoom (online)
- Cost: Free
- Register: forms.gle/3p6TyGTeLGEtQUqg6
Sources
- Eva Chukwunelo on LinkedIn: She Moves announcement, November 2026
- IMEA CPO: From Barriers to Breakthrough: Bringing African Women’s Experiences into Prosthetic Care
- IMEA CPO: She Moves Event to Put African Women at the Centre of P&O’s Future