CHL and Handicap International teams during the handover of the prostheses; Credit: Foguenne-CHL

On Tuesday 15 December 2025, the Luxembourg branch of Handicap International (HI) reported the support of the Luxembourg Hospital Centre (CHL) in its prostheses reconditioning programme.

According to HI, it has established a reconditioning system to enable amputees in less privileged countries to benefit from high-quality prosthetic devices. High-tech materials recovered in Europe and prepared by volunteer experts are integrated into prostheses produced locally in the countries where Handicap International operates.

HI said the idea is simple but vital: to prevent waste and allow equipment that is still usable to restore independence to people in countries where the NGO is active. CHL has partnered with Handicap International through the establishment of collection points across its facilities. The goal is to recover used prostheses and orthoses which, once carefully reconditioned, will be sent to countries where access to medical equipment is often limited.

In Luxembourg, the CNS allows insured amputees to replace their prosthesis every three years. The components, particularly the mechanical elements, have a minimum lifespan of ten years but are generally discarded at each replacement. HI noted that these components can be worth several hundred euros.

To avoid this waste, the prostheses components are recovered in Europe and prepared by volunteer experts before being integrated into prostheses produced locally in the countries where Handicap International operates.

For the NGO in Luxembourg, a volunteer orthoprosthetist, Jonathan Thomas, dismantles the prostheses in his laboratory in Thionville before sending them to a dedicated warehouse near Lyon. Thanks to this programme, 550 prostheses were processed in 2024. With demand increasing, the initiative is expected to expand rapidly.

HI highlighted that over 30 million people worldwide require prosthetic devices but only five to fifteen per cent actually have access to them. Access remains limited, primarily due to the unavailability of orthopaedic components and their high cost. 

Patrick Le Folcalvez, a rehabilitation expert for Handicap International based in Luxembourg, emphasised: “For these people, the lack of prosthetic devices can be a terrible sentence: it is often their only hope of returning to some semblance of normal life, being able to walk again, resume work, support their family and so on. This reconditioning programme is very close to our hearts.”

The NGO stated that CHL’s collection initiative can make a tangible difference for people awaiting prostheses and said in recent weeks that four boxes of equipment had already been collected and handed over to Handicap International. 

Individuals can bring used prostheses to CHL or directly to Handicap International’s offices.

In 2024, the NGO sent prosthetic components to Uganda, Rwanda, Togo, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Yemen.