NIGERIA has been advised to incorporate clubfoot assessment into neonatal health checks to ensure that every child with clubfoot is identified and treated promptly.
Executive Director of the Planned Health Advocacy and Development Foundation, Mr Obatunde Oladapo, spoke at a media briefing to commemorate the 2025 World Clubfoot Day. He emphasized that early detection and treatment of clubfoot are essential for ensuring that affected children can reach their full potential in life.
He stated that clubfoot is a common congenital deformity with an unknown cause, which many people in society are still unaware of. The incidence of this condition has led to crises within families due to the myths and misconceptions surrounding it in the community.
According to him, the Ponseti method—a non-surgical approach for treating clubfoot—is most effective when the correction is performed during childhood, as the leg is more malleable and easier to manipulate into the normal position.
“If the child is brought in early, the Ponseti method has been documented to have a success rate of at least 98%. The surgical methods previously used do not achieve the same level of success as the Ponseti method. This is encouraging news for mothers.”
Mr Oladapo stated that Plan Foundation, with support from MiracleFeet, is offering corrective clubfoot services at no cost for children at Bowen University Children’s Hospital in Ogbomosho and Ring Road Specialist Hospital in Oyo State.
According to him, 60 children have already benefited from the nonsurgical method for treating clubfoot through the Plan Foundation. Plans are underway in the next fiscal year to extend services to additional facilities in Oyo and Ogun states.
Mr Oladapo declared that children with clubfoot are often stigmatized, which can result in missed educational opportunities, truancy, diminished self-esteem, and feelings of ostracism from their peers.
According to him, “It is not expensive to identify. Therefore, when a child is born, please examine the feet to determine whether the child has a clubfoot. The cost of treating such a condition is not prohibitive, especially at this early age. Consequently, we can include it as part of the neonatal health packages.
“Clubfoot is a condition that many people tend to hide, with at least one in 10,000 children being born with it. It is not limited to Africa; rather, it is a global phenomenon. Therefore, it is essential to include a foot assessment as part of the vital checks conducted after birth. Every child deserves the opportunity to run freely and play football like their peers. Clubfoot impacts mobility, but it is a disability that can be easily treated.”
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