Building crutches, walkers, and stretchers from scratch in Afghanistan

The Kunduz Trauma Center in northern Afghanistan sees an average of more than 1,000 patients a month seeking urgent, trauma-related care. Many patients who have experienced the loss of a limb face financial hardship, making it difficult to afford the mobility aid devices they may need.

To help respond to their needs, teams of technicians with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are finding innovative ways to create medical and non-medical devices from scratch to help trauma patients in northern Afghanistan recover and regain mobility.

“As this is a trauma center, there is a regular need for walkers and other medical materials,” said Shir Mohammad, the infrastructure supervisor at Kunduz Trauma Center. “When the medical team needs anything, we design the required equipment and solve the problem.”

Items produced by the MSF team include crutches, walkers, and even a stretcher that reduces the noise and vibration for patients when they’re being transported through the hospital. The team also recently created a spica table, which helps align fractured bones before a patient receives a cast.

Since 2023, the team has built an average of 20 to 30 pairs of crutches and walkers every week using locally available materials. The crutches are then given to physiotherapists to distribute for free to patients in need.

Not only has this system provided free mobility aid devices essential for patients' recovery, but it has also helped reduce MSF’s medical costs.

“Previously, we had a supplier from whom we’d purchase the crutches,” said Mohammad. “But now the cost is significantly reduced. The crutches we build here [cost] around 50 percent less than the market price.”

The logistics team is kept busy, with 32,628 patients being seen in the emergency room and 23,217 outpatient consultations conducted by MSF medical teams in 2024.

With hundreds of crutches made locally in the last few years, Mohammad says he often sees people in the community using those built by the MSF logistics department in Kunduz.

One such person is Mohammadullah, a farmer from the Khan Abad district in Kunduz province. In April, he was riding his motorcycle when he collided with a car, breaking his leg. He had urgent surgery at Kunduz Trauma Center and has been coming regularly for follow-up appointments and physiotherapy sessions since then. 

However, Mohammadullah hasn’t been able to work or even return to his farm since the accident happened. “I want to walk again,” he said. “I’m the only man in my family, and they need me. I want to return home.”

Mohammadullah said the physiotherapists gave him the crutches when he was discharged, instructing him to avoid putting pressure on the broken leg.

“On the market, crutches cost around 1,000 Afghani [roughly $14],” said Mohammadullah. “It’s good that MSF provides them for free, and we’ll return them to the hospital after recovery.”

Mohammad said it warms his heart when he creates something that helps patients and meets the needs of the medical team.

“One of our main objectives is to serve our patients and our people in any way we can,” he said. “If we have the ability to help others, we must do it.”