Sustainable Clubfoot Treatment

This project promotes the Ponseti clubfoot treatment method a proven cost-effective and simple technique that corrects congenital clubfoot. In Bangladesh an estimated 5 000 children a year are born with a clubfoot. Clubfoot is a major cause of poverty as it results in discrimination and limits educational and earning opportunities. The project aims to provide skills training develop a curriculum for health care practitioners establish national guidelines for Ponseti clubfoot treatment and build local treatment and training capacity. Project activities include treating 25 000 children born with a clubfoot and training 30 000 community health workers and over 20 000 health care students in clubfoot treatment.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: Ponseti clubfoot treatment teaching is integrated within Bangladesh’s higher education system; Ponseti clubfoot treatment is integrated within the health care system of Bangladesh; and a Ponseti clubfoot program database is integrated within the data management systems of the local partners.