Dear participants,

Dear partners,

We will all meet again very soon at the next FATO congress which is always an exceptional event. I can assure you that it is with great enthusiasm that the scientific committee will mobilize, with all of you, to ensure quality content around the theme chosen by the FATO management team “Promoting equitable access to services rehabilitation and assistive technologies in Africa.

This theme aims to concretely promote the links between assistive technologies and access to rehabilitation, links which often remain to be improved.

Indeed, many people with disabilities receive assistive technologies without any interaction with a rehabilitation professional and many rehabilitation professionals do not have the possibilities to prescribe or to direct their patients towards quality assistive technology. We must address this ongoing challenge as a priority.

Another important word in this theme is “equitable access.” It reminds us all that rehabilitation care, like assistive technologies, no matter how effective they may be, must above all be affordable and accessible for the entire population. Too often “quality” rhymes with “access for privileged people”. At a time of therapeutic, technical, and financing innovations, we know you are all mobilized to improve access to rehabilitation and assistive technologies. We look forward to discussing with you any advances you share.

The main mission of such a congress is to exchange, communicate and learn from each other by confronting our differences and identifying our common points. The interdisciplinary approach and education are aspects of rehabilitation and assistive technologies that are extremely important to us in order to continue to create productive synergies and inclusive dynamics.

We await your scientific abstracts and contributions and look forward to reading and sharing them. We hope that this meeting will be prolific and that it will bring us all new opportunities for development and collaboration, as was the case at past congresses.

Sincerely,  

François FRIEDEL
Scientific Committee President