TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Assistive Devices Program has continued to aid victims in Turkey one year after its devastating earthquake, reported Taiwan’s representative to Turkey Huang Chi-yang (黃志揚). 

On Feb. 6, 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake occurred in the area bordering Turkey and Syria, which killed nearly 40,000 people. In September 2023, Taiwan signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOU) with Turkey to aid victims who had lost limbs or endured severe injuries due to the quake. 

The plan provided the models and manufacturing of prostheses and assistive devices, per CNA. It also included rehabilitation and psychological counseling services for quake victims. 

Huang recently visited the local prosthetic manufacturing center in Turkey and met with disabled victims of the quake. A Turkish rehabilitation practitioner named Zeynep, who lost her right arm and foot, said she was grateful to Taiwan for its assistance program, which provided her with prosthetic limbs that allowed her to stand again. 

After she was fitted with prosthetic limbs and completed rehabilitation, Zeynep continued working in the rehabilitation room of the prosthetic manufacturing center. She hopes to share her rehabilitation experience with others, she said. 

There are 631 applications for prosthetics or assistive devices in Taiwan's Assistive Devices Program. Currently, 511 have been completed, and 120 are still in production.