Training the Next Generation of Physiotherapists to Fight Disability
| Location: | Naini Hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Timeline: | Program start 2022 | First class began 2023 |
| Partner: | The Leprosy Mission Trust India (TLMTI) |
Challenge
India faces a critical shortage of trained physiotherapists—especially in poor, rural areas. For people affected by leprosy and other disabilities, this means pain, immobility, and isolation—simply because no one is available to help them recover. Without physical therapy, basic functions like walking or working become impossible.
Solution
The Institute of Paramedical Sciences (IPS) at Naini Hospital is India’s first leprosy-informed physiotherapy degree program—training future healthcare leaders to restore mobility, prevent disability, and change lives.
This 4-year Bachelor of Physiotherapy program gives students hands-on clinical training at a hospital that has served patients with compassion since 1876. Each graduate will emerge not just skilled, but deeply attuned to the needs of marginalized patients.
Main Goals
- Educate 24 students per year, growing to 40 by 2028
- Deliver disability care to thousands more patients
- Provide disability care to thousands of more patients
- Achieve self-sustainability by 2029 through student tuition revenue
Who Benefits
- Students from underserved regions who want a career in healthcare
- Thousands of patients with leprosy-related disabilities
- The entire Indian health system, which gains skilled professionals
- TLMTI hospitals, which gain well-trained physiotherapists
