Dear participants,
dear partners,

We are delighted to announce the organization of the 9th FATO Congress. After Lomé in 2016, the FATO Congress will take place in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo from November 17 to 22, 2024. The FATO International Congress is an event that brings together all rehabilitation professionals and is intended to be a place for exchange and discussion in order to improve the quality of services and find lasting solutions to the obstacles faced by people with disabilities to have access to services.

This congress, which will take place for the first time in a French-speaking country in Central Africa, is a major event for our country. It will focus on the following theme: “Promoting equitable access to rehabilitation services and assistive technologies in Africa”

Accessibility is a major challenge in rehabilitation care in Africa and particularly in the DRC because of the poverty of the population, the lack of quality infrastructure as well as manpower and especially the insufficient budget allocated to this sector.

This congress is an opportunity for the country to commit the government in Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology sector in order to involve it in every aspect. It will also make it possible to consolidate the links between the different professionals working in this sector in order to promote a multidisciplinary rehabilitation approach in care process. This will be an opportunity to share experience in order to improve our practices towards improving the quality of support for service users. This will be an opportunity to share experience in order to improve our practices towards improving the quality of care to service users.

The National Organizing Committee joins me in thanking all professional associations, national and international partners, institutions and Rehabilitation professionals for coming in large numbers to Kinshasa, the capital bordered by His Majesty the « Congo River », rich in diversity of flora and fauna with numerous cultural sites rooted in our history.

We hope that the FATO International Congress 2024 will live up to your expectations and invite you, from now on, to actively prepare for this event which is YOURS !

 MASUGA MUSAFIRI Willy
National Organization Committee President