Bokk Na Ci — Senegal's National Assistive-Technology System, from CNAO Workshops to a DHIS2 Data Layer

An estimated 7.3% of Senegal's population lives with a disability, and ATscale's baseline assessment found 89.3% of the country's assistive-technology need (wheelchairs, prosthetics, glasses, hearing aids) going unmet. Launched in 2023, 'Bokk Na Ci' ('I am included', in Wolof) is led by Senegal's National Centre for Orthopaedic Appliances (CNAO) with a $2.5 million grant from ATscale (2023-2027) and technical support from WHO and UNICEF.

The programme aims to build a national assistive-technology system: training fitting specialists, standing up regional multisectoral disability committees, integrating AT indicators into the national DHIS2 health information system, and deploying mobile clinics for early screening and device fitting.

The programme has trained 61 professionals (orthopaedic-fitting specialists, technicians and specialised shoemakers), established multisectoral disability committees in seven regions (Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Thies, Tambacounda and Ziguinchor), integrated assistive-technology indicators into DHIS2, and deployed three mobile clinics. Beyond the ATscale grant, the Senegalese government has committed its own financing — $1.5 million to CNAO in 2025 and a further $4.3 million pledged over four years.

Results reported so far are system-building outputs: committees formed, staff trained, first equipment batches distributed, and AT indicators now flowing into DHIS2.

Whether the 89.3% unmet-need baseline has actually fallen has not yet been independently measured or published; the evidence to date documents programme build-out rather than a measured outcome change.