Sophies Minde Ortopedi AS participated on the 7th March 2011 at the ESTHER Alliance meeting in Oslo. Rune Nilsen presented our current ESTHER-project: Capacity building in Prosthetic and Orthotic Educational Centres and Services in low income countries. The entire European ESTHER Alliance was gathered to share experiences and strengthen networking for common actions.

The European ESTHER (Togheter for a Networked Hospital Therapeutic Solidarity) Alliance was launched in 2002 by France with the main goal to strengthen the capacities of Southern countries to combat HIV/AIDS and associated pathologies. The Norwegian programme also includes this area, but has a wider aim: Contributing to solving the health personnel crisis and reaching the Millennium Development Goals related to health, by strengthening the education of health personnel and service delivery in countries where Norway is engaged in long term development cooperation.

This European initiative receives direct support from the European governments who have mandated technical agencies or ministerial departments to set up programmes (GIZ in Germany, GIP ESTHER in France, NORAD and FK Norway in Norway, Ministry of Health, Social Policy and Equality and AECID in Spain, DGPS and ISS in Italy, IPAD and AIDS National Coordination in Portugal, Hellenic AIDS and KEELPNO in Greece, LUX DEV in Luxembourg).