By: Nicholas Osei-Wusu
Babies with clubfoot in the Ashanti region, in particular, have been given the hope of walking normally as any other child following the provision of free treatment by some local and international organizations.
Also known as talipes equinovarus, clubfoot is a congenital disease detected among babies at birth with no confirmed scientific causes.
In some cases, clubfoot is believed to be a birth defect or due to an awkward position of the baby during gestation and if left untreated, leads the patients to deformities in the foot or feet.
Globally, it estimated that one out of every one thousand babies has clubfoot which is a physical defect in either one foot or both feet with developing countries having about 80 percent prevalence rate.
In Ghana, a study has revealed that, a considerable number of people live with the deformity for various reasons including inaccessibility to, or high cost of treatment.
It is against this background that HopeWalk, a US-based charity non governmental organization, in partnership with the Christian Health Association of Ghana, CHAG, has provided treatment to toddlers with the condition free of charge.
The two-day charity exercise, carried out at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, was available to children aged day one to three years regardless of place of residence in Ghana.
Day one of the exercise saw many parents patronizing with the clubfoot babies whose conditions were first assessed to determine the best of treatment for their respective conditions.
The surgery-free treatment was conducted by a team of an Orthopedic Surgeon from the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Hope and the Medical Director of the Clubfoot Ghana Programme supported by physiotherapists from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
According to the Medical Director of Clubfoot Ghana, Dr. Proper Moh, two stages of treatment-POP casting and braces treatment-were offered the babies to correct the deformities and that, should their parents adhere to instructions, the children will have the problems corrected maximum by five years.
“We have two stages of the treatment. The 1st stitch is the application of POP that we use to correct the feet gradually. It takes about six to eight weeks. When the correction is done, we are supposed to maintain the feet corrected until the child grows to about five years. Then he can sleep with the braces”, he explained to GBC in an interview.
Two of the beneficiary mothers, Sandra Agyeiwaa and Victoria Agyarko, shared their experience and excitement about the free healthcare.
Sandra narrated “I noticed the twisted foot on the day of his birth. I’ve observed some improvement following the doctors’ treatment and I’m thankful for the free intervention.”
“I’ve observed vast improvement in my baby’s condition after he was attended to. I’ll urge parents with babies with such conditions not to lose hope but seek medical treatment”, Victoria said amid smiles.
The Programmes Manager of HopeWalk, Nana Afua Adutwumwaa Adjetey, explained that, the exercise aimed to give hope to both the affected babies and their parents for the future and entreated parents with the congenital condition to seek healthcare as early as possible when they detect the condition after birth.
“It is not the fault of parents to have babies with clubfoot. They are sometimes depressed and wonder why they should give birth yo children with such conditions. When they notice such defects, they should come to our facilities and we’ll treat the deformities at no monetary cost to them”, the Programmes Manager assured.
In addition to this free service, physiotherapists at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi have also had their competencies and professional skills enhanced through theoretical and hands-on training on diagnosis and treatment of clubfoot.
To ensure that, more babies with clubfoot in the country receive the required expert treatment, the NGO has also built the professional competencies and skills of staff of the Orthopedic Department of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
Dr. Prosper Moh, the Medical Director for Ghana Clubfoot Perogramme, and Dr. Joseph Korpisah, an Orthopedic Surgeon and Lecturer of UHAS took them through topics such as early diagnosis, the major and common treatment, importance and risks involved in bracing as well as brace management.
