The Registrar of the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria (MRTBN), Dr Yusuf Rufai, has urged government action to strengthen rehabilitation financing and expand the country’s physiotherapy workforce.

He said the measures would improve access to quality rehabilitation services for Nigerians requiring specialised care.

The registrar spoke on Saturday in Abuja during a collaborative training programme organised by MRTBN and Built to Last (BTL).

The programme focused on promoting modern rehabilitation technologies among physiotherapists across the country.

Mr Rufai said the partnership aimed to enhance service delivery through the use of emerging technologies and professional compliance.

He explained that the initiative would ensure rehabilitation technologies were used safely and effectively.

“BTL provides rehabilitation technologies used in physiotherapy practice, while the board regulates standards,” Mr Rufai said.

He added that MRTBN ensured practitioners possessed the required knowledge and skills.

“The collaboration enables us to understand available technologies and incorporate them into our regulatory framework,” he said.

Mr Rufai said the board had moved from enforcement toward stakeholder engagement and professional education.

He identified limited rehabilitation equipment and inadequate technical capacity as major sectoral challenges.

“The board will promote training and retraining of physiotherapists while advocating increased government funding,” he said.

Mr Rufai stressed that selecting inappropriate equipment could negatively affect patients’ recovery.

“Using the wrong equipment for a patient’s condition may even be detrimental to recovery,” he said.

He said proper clinical reasoning remained essential in rehabilitation practice and patient management.

The registrar also advocated sustainable rehabilitation financing under the World Health Organisation’s Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative.

He disclosed that the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare approved the implementation of the initiative.

Mr Rufai said rehabilitation financing was among the initiative’s priority areas requiring urgent attention.

He urged the government to establish dedicated budget lines for rehabilitation services nationwide. He also called for expanded health insurance coverage to include rehabilitation technologies.

“Such measures will support equipment procurement and ensure healthcare providers are reimbursed,” he said.

Earlier, Nkiru Jibauku, a physiotherapist, urged increased investment in advanced rehabilitation technologies.

She said adopting modern tools would improve treatment outcomes and reduce recovery periods.

Mrs Jibauku noted that physiotherapy had evolved beyond traditional massage-based treatment approaches.

She said advanced technologies now support faster healing and more effective rehabilitation processes.

The physiotherapist explained that the tools could assist patients at different rehabilitation stages.

She said they were useful for acute injuries, post-operative care and long-term recovery.

“Early intervention using these technologies accelerates tissue repair and enables faster rehabilitation,” she said.

Mrs Jibauku said technology had transformed physiotherapy practice through cellular and molecular healing approaches.

“What previously took about three months to heal can now be managed in six weeks,” she said.

The BTL Medical Nigeria Head of Sales, Tony Odhiambo, highlighted the programme’s importance.

Mr Odhiambo said the training connected physiotherapists with modern rehabilitation solutions.

He said the initiative sought to integrate advanced devices into routine clinical practice.

According to him, the collaboration would strengthen physiotherapy services and improve patient outcomes.

“We are bringing physiotherapists together to discuss how rehabilitation devices can improve patient care,” he said.

The BTL, a Central European rehabilitation equipment manufacturer, produces internationally certified devices.

The company’s technologies are designed to support evidence-based physiotherapy practices globally.

(NAN)