Over 1,100 physiotherapy staff attended the WCPT chief executive Jonathon Kruger’s opening session where he detailed the confederation’s role in enhancing standards of physiotherapy education and provision across the world.
‘The WCPT is a collection of national and international member organisations and your connection is through the CSP,’ Mr Kruger told the conference. Recent member country additions have included Mali, Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Haiti. ‘However, not every country has evolved their physiotherapy provision in the same way,’ he said.
In July, Mr Kruger said he delivered a series of workshops on advocacy in Taiwan. ‘As a result of a meeting with health ministers, the government have committed to introduce legislation to improve physiotherapy standards,’ he said. ‘The work we do at national level can be significant.'
He gave another example of how the WCPT’s work has led to change in the Ivory Coast, improving standards in both physiotherapy education and provision. ‘The position of physiotherapy is very different there. However, health ministers have committed to double the amount of physiotherapy schools - from one to two’, he said to laughter from the hall.
‘They also agreed to create physiotherapy departments in the 10 biggest hospitals. WCPT’s power at that level can be transformative,’ he said.
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