This is AFSCIN

Welcome to our website

Members of AFSCIN (Africa Spinal Cord Injury Network) are consumers and health care workers with a strong interest in the enhancement of spinal cord injury care in Africa.


What AFSCIN strives for

We strive to establish a model for spinal cord injury care for the African Continent by:

  • effective networking
  • training
  • exchange
  • collaboration
  • advocacy

Why AFSCIN

The prognosis for SCI in Africa is bleak.

SCI patients in Africa have to cope with:

  • a severe traumatic injury or illness
  • poor evacuation protocols
  • poor pre-hospital care
  • inadequate radiology imaging services
  • the lack of specialized units
  • inadequate rehabilitation services
  • poorly trained staff

Specific Problems

The problems specific to SCI care in Africa are:

  • Professional skills are limited to a few centers of excellence on the continent
  • There is a lack of minimum standards of care
  • There is a lack of a systems approach to SCI
  • There is a lack of a holistic, empathic, inter-disciplinary approach to care
  • Research is limited and often not appropriate for the improvement of services on the continent
  • Resources are few and often under utilized

Our Aims

When AFSCIN was formally launched at AFSCIN 1, in November of 2015, it was envisaged that the network would act as a platform to:

  • Share models of best practice from across Africa
  • Provide appropriate training to the needs of the African continent
  • Support the establishment of specialized spinal unit services on the continent
  • Facilitate the creation of country specific spinal cord injury organisations
  • Foster research and clinical excellence
  • Duplicate good examples of care across the region
  • Network with governmental and non-governmental organisations, academic institutions, and other service providers
  • Link professionals into existing SCI professional networks affiliated with ISCoS
  • Identify key leaders who can be linked together to further progress the Africa SCI Network

Major challenges are experienced along the entire continuum of care, ultimately resulting in poor or limited integration into the community and very little chance of entering or remaining in the job market.

The consequence of this is a complete dependency on family, friends and the state, often resulting in the whole family being further trapped in the poverty cycle.

We can't help everyone,
but everyone can help someone

+27 (0)83 449 1163

africasci@gmail.com

https://www.afscin.org