Locals urged to support Steps Charity NPC ahead of World Clubfoot Day
The public is urged to consider the huge impact that can be made through donations to Steps.
Approximately 54% of children in South Africa under the age of five are deprived in the area of health according to Stats SA 2020 – Child Poverty in South Africa: A Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis.
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Ahead of World Clubfoot Day, held annually on June 3, Steps Charity NPC a non-profit in South Africa focuses on clubfoot treatment. The organisation calls for an increase in the reach of clubfoot treatment programmes across more areas, to more children, with the help of the public and private sectors.
According to the founder of Steps, Karen Moss, less than 20% of patients in South Africa have access to health insurance or the means to pay for treatment.
“Established in response to the need for clubfoot treatment. Early detection, treatment and care are critical to reducing long-term disability as a result of clubfoot.
“Since clubfoot is a treatable condition, with the help of NPOs such as Steps, we can all play our part in helping children avoid a life of disability.
“We need to be able to extend our services and treatment to reach those who are unable to access it. We also have to look at practical ways of doing so, utilising relevant and available resources.
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“This requires a two-pronged approach. We need to extend the accessibility of clubfoot treatment programmes offering the Ponseti method (the non-invasive correction of clubfoot), particularly in under-resourced and serviced areas,” said Moss.
She said there is a need to leverage all available resources, including affiliated health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. To achieve these goals, we need support from both the public and private sectors.
“Dr Greg Firth, former head of South Africa’s busiest clubfoot treatment programme at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and current Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon at Royal London Hospital has personally experienced both the success of the Ponseti Method and the value of including affiliated health professionals in clubfoot treatment programmes.
“Arnold Christianson, retired South African professor and geneticist and former head of the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Witwatersrand recently shared in a webinar three key principles involving caring for birth defects.”
He believes that for people with birth defects, including clubfoot, care is an absolute must and comprises diagnosis, treatment and counselling.
“However, care must take place as close to home as possible especially in developing areas where, for many, it can be difficult to access medical services.
“He also stated that the care should be as simple as possible – hence the importance of using the Ponseti Method.
Not only can it be offered in rural and distanced settings as it does not necessarily need to be offered by a doctor.
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And thirdly, the Ponseti method can be offered by other health professionals such as nurses and physiotherapists, thus making it an ideal form of treatment in the developing world and in South Africa,” said Moss.
Members of the public are urged to consider the huge impact that can be made through donations to Steps on World Clubfoot Day.
“No donation is too small and recurring donations can make a sustainable impact. R2 500 supports one child through clubfoot treatment, R1 000 gives one child a clubfoot brace and R250 pays one child’s transport costs to the clinic for treatment.
“A recurring donation of R500 per month supports the treatment of two children.
“This shows how significant a difference anyone can make to ensure that a child can live a productive, mobile life,” said Moss.
For more information, go to https://steps.org.za
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