The following report has been provided by Monique Koopman, deputy president, South Africa Society of Physiotherapy
A recent collaboration between the South African Society of Physiotherapy (SASP) and the Kenya Society of Physiotherapists (KSP) powerfully reaffirmed a core African truth: We advance further when we move together. Rooted in the principle of Ubuntu, “I am because we are”, this visit highlighted the extraordinary potential within African physiotherapy and the systemic gaps that still limit our collective impact.
One of the most inspiring aspects of this visit was the energy and innovation of students and early-career physiotherapists. Their initiatives, born in resource constraint environments, reflected a powerful truth, some of the greatest innovations in Africa are born from scarcity not surplus. Yet innovation alone cannot shift health systems without policy support, training and ongoing advocacy.
Engagements with the private sector in Kenya, revealed a persistent challenge across much of Africa - physiotherapy is still widely perceived as a “value add service” rather than an essential service. This thinking undermines clinical outcomes and health system efficiencies. Following targeted advocacy on the role of physiotherapy on improving post-operative outcomes, an important breakthrough was achieved, KSP was invited to present to medical insurance providers on the necessity of integrating physiotherapy alongside surgical care to improve outcomes and reduce long term cost.
Another milestone was an invitation from the Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society for physiotherapy to feature as a plenary session at its jubilee congress in 2026. This represents growing interdisciplinary recognition that rehabilitation, particularly in pelvic health, physiotherapy is central to maternal and surgical care and not secondary to it.
These developments align directly with the global Rehab 2030 agenda, which calls for rehabilitation to be embedded within universal health coverage. Yet across much of Africa rehab continues to face inadequate workforce numbers, late recognition into medical and surgical care, poor insurance coverage and weak policy recognition.
Africa does not lack skilled clinicians, it lacks unified systems, strong advocacy and continental collaboration.
This is where Ubuntu and regional collaboration need to step up. More established member organisations across Africa carry a responsibility to actively support emerging member organisations through shared education, membership, advocacy framework and research development. In turn, newer societies bring innovation and adaptability that strengthen the entire region.
The future of physiotherapy will not be built in isolation. It will be built through collaboration, shared leadership and collective advocacy. If Africa is to realise the Rehab 2030 goals, rehabilitation must move from “allied”, on the margins of health, to the centre of healthcare – where it belongs.
Ubuntu reminds us that: When one nation rises, the continent rises.
