World Clubfoot Day is held on 3 June and was created to raise global awareness of club foot.
About 150 000 to 200 000 children are affected globally each year with about 2 000 of those cases in South Africa. The day is held annually and celebrates the birth date of Dr Ignaçio Ponseti who, in the mid-20th century, developed a non-surgical method for treating club foot.
Known as the Ponseti Method, it uses a series of casts, gentle manipulation and a club foot brace. This ground-breaking method enabled, for the first time, the correction of club foot without surgical intervention and at less expense.
In South Africa, Steps Charity is the only non-profit focused on club foot treatment and, since its establishment in 2005, more than 15 000 children have accessed the Ponseti method of treatment. Karen Moss, the founder of the charity, said, “We were established in response to the huge need for club foot treatment support in Southern Africa.
“Less than eight per cent of patients have access to health insurance or the means to pay for treatment. Since club foot is a treatable condition, we had to do something to help children avoid a life of disability. The Ponseti method was successful with my own child and so I introduced it to Southern Africa to try and assist all parents whose children are born with the same condition.”
The Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have had an impact on children’s access to treatment. However, despite these challenges, there were over 11 000 patient clinic visits and 678 new patients enrolled at partner clinics. A total of 1 042 club foot braces were distributed by Steps Charity to clinics and suppliers during 2020 and there are currently 3 079 patients in treatment.
Ivy Muffler, a Steps club foot clinic coordinator at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and Steve Biko Academic Hospital said, “Working as a Steps clinic coordinator during the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly been interesting. When the lockdown was first announced, we were all filled with confusion and fear.
“My phone buzzed non-stop with patients wanting guidance on what they should do. Some wanted to rush back to their family homes, some were too scared to leave home. But they all knew that they didn’t want to discontinue treatment if it was still available, and they were worried about what a break in treatment would mean for their child’s progress.”
She concluded, “After the initial shock was over, things settled in quite quickly and most patients who were still in the active casting stage returned to the clinic for treatment. The parents were cooperative and understanding, and adhered to the new, stricter safety protocols. They understood that these were exceptional times and that it would take us all working together as a team to make it through safely.”
