Africa region webinar series
Register here to take part in the webinar
This free webinar is only open to members of World Physiotherapy member organisations in the Africa region.
Webinar title
Stroke rehabilitation in Africa/Réhabilitation post-AVC en Afrique
Date and time
18 September 2025, 17:00-18:00 UTC Check your local time
The webinar will be delivered in English and French, with simultaneous translation provided through AI software.
Speakers
- Nassib Tawa, WHO Africa region
- Gerard Urimubenshi, member of Rwanda Physical Therapy Organisation
- Naomi Kingau, member of Kenya Society of Physiotherapists
- Oyene Kossi, member of Association Béninoise des Kinésithérapeutes - Reeducateurs/Beninoise Association of Physiotherapists – Reeducators
- Facilitator: Joseph Martial Capo-Chichi, member of Association Béninoise des Kinésithérapeutes - Reeducateurs/Beninoise Association of Physiotherapists – Reeducators and chair of World Physiotherapy Africa region executive committee
Speakers
Nassib Tawa: WHO Africa region rehabilitation agenda
Nassib is the WHO Africa region technical officer for disability and rehabilitation. In his presentation he will share information about the WHO regional strategy to strengthen rehabilitation in health systems and provide an overview on stroke rehabilitation in the region.
Scoping review: https://europepmc.org/article/NBK/nbk574231
Gerard Urimubenshi: contextualising stroke rehabilitation in Africa: clinical guidelines and practical approaches for resource-limited settings
Gerard is an associate professor of physiotherapy at the University of Rwanda. He holds a PhD in stroke service development from the University of Glasgow and has a strong track record in rehabilitation research, education, and clinical practice, especially in low-resource settings. He is a member of the African Stroke Organisation stroke service working group and global initiatives including the peer review group for WHO package of interventions for stroke rehabilitation, the International Stroke Recovery & Rehabilitation Alliance, and the Global Consortium for Stroke Rehabilitation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Gerard has published widely on stroke service availability and access in low-income and middle-income countries/territories, and is committed to shaping stroke rehabilitation across Africa.
Naomi Kingau: bridging the gap: enhancing return-to-work pathways for stroke survivors in low-resource setting
Naomi is a senior lecturer in physiotherapy at Moi University, Kenya, and a leading expert in neurorehabilitation. She holds a PhD in neurorehabilitation and has over two decades of combined clinical, academic, and research experience. Naomi played a pivotal role in the development of Kenya’s first clinical guidelines for stroke rehabilitation, a milestone in standardising evidence-based care for stroke survivors in Kenya.
She is a member of the African Stroke Organisation stroke service working group and participates in several global initiatives, including the International Stroke Recovery & Rehabilitation Alliance and the Global Consortium for Stroke Rehabilitation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. She has published widely on stroke service availability and access in low- and middle-income countries/territories and is committed to shaping stroke rehabilitation across Africa.
Naomi's work focuses on advancing stroke recovery through culturally relevant, resource-sensitive interventions, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the integration of physiotherapy into national health systems. She has a strong track record in rehabilitation research, training, and service development, and remains dedicated to improving access to and quality of stroke rehabilitation in Kenya and across Africa.
Oyene Kossi: opening the "black box" of physiotherapy content in acute and subacute stroke rehabilitation in Western Africa, particularly in Benin
Oyene is a graduate of the faculty of health science, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin, and has worked as physiotherapist at the University Hospital of Parakou in north Benin. He holds a master's in physiotherapy and rehabilitation from the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain, Belgium), and was awarded a scholarship from UCLouvain for a PhD in physiotherapy under the supervision of Jean-Louis Thoannard (UClouvain, Belgium) and Thierry Adoukonou (University of Parakou, Benin). His PhD research was on poststroke participation in Benin and Burundi. He developed and validated a Rasch-built scale for the measurement of participation, participation measurement scale (PM-Scale).
In 2019, Oyene was appointed assistant professor at University of Parakou. He is currently developing a research group on neurological rehabilitation in Parakou, in collaboration with faculty of rehabilitation sciences, UHasselt. He is also interested in cardiac rehabilitation, and in the development of new scales or the adaptation of existing scales.
Webinar description
Speakers in this webinar will explore stroke rehabilitation in the Africa region. Starting with an overview on rehabilitation and contextualising clinical guidelines, experts in the field will then explore return-to-work pathways before looking at a case study from Benin, exploring acute and subacute stroke rehabilitation.
Objectives:
- Gaining insights into the WHO Africa region rehabilitation agenda
- Exploring the relevance of clinical guidelines and their relevance to physiotherapy practice in the Africa region context
- Introducing barriers and facilitators influencing return-to-work among stroke survivors in low-resource settings
- Opening the "black box" of physiotherapy content in acute and subacute stroke rehabilitation in Western Africa, particularly in Benin
Further reading
Gerard Urimubenshi presentation
- National Clinical Guideline for Stroke for the UK and Ireland. London: Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party; 2023. P.62-133. Available at: www.strokeguideline.org.
- Package of interventions for rehabilitation. Module 3: Neurological Conditions. Geneva, WHO; 2023. P1-25. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240071131
- Bernhardt J., Urimubenshi G., Gandhi DBC., Eng JJ. Stroke rehabilitation in low-income and middle-income countries: A call for action. Lancet. 2020; 396 (10260): 1452-1462. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31313-1. PMID: 33129396.
Naomi W Kingau presentation
- Kingau, N. (2023). Exploring rehabilitation options and resources of support for stroke survivors’ in Edoret, Kenya: Bulletin of Faculty of Physical Therapy, 28:38 doi.org/10.1186/s43161-023-00149-4
- Platz, T. (Ed.). (2021). Clinical Pathways in Stroke Rehabilitation: Evidence-based Clinical Practice Recommendations [Healthcare settings for rehabilitation after stroke]. In Clinical Pathways in Stroke Rehabilitation. Springer. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58505-1_14
- Urimubenshi, G., Cadilhac, D. A., Kagwiza, J. N., Musenge, E., & Pandian, J. D. (2021). Stroke rehabilitation services in low- and middle-income countries: Challenges and opportunities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 43(4), 420–429. doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2019.1635650
Oyene Kossi presentation
- Amanzonwé ER, Kossi O, Noukpo SI, Adoukonou T, Hansen D, Triccas LT, Feys P. Physiotherapy practices in acute and sub-acute stroke in a low resource country: A prospective observational study in Benin. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2023 Nov;32(11):107353. doi:10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2023.107353. Epub 2023 Sep 13.
- Noukpo SI, Kossi O, Amanzonwé ER, Coninx K, Spooren A, Bonnechère B, Adoukonou T, Feys P. Feasibility of a 10-week community-based mobile health rehabilitation program using the WalkWithMe application in late sub-acute and chronic stroke survivors in a low resource setting: A pilot study. J Sports Sci. 2024 Oct;42(20):1939-1950. doi:10.1080/02640414.2024.2419221
- Amanzonwé ER, Kossi O, Noukpo SI, Adoukonou T, Feys P, Hansen D. High-intensity interval training is feasible, credible and clinically effective in the early subacute stroke stage in the low-income country of Benin. J Sports Sci. 2024 Jun;42(11):1030-1040. doi:10.1080/02640414.2024.2381291.
