In a nation where over 150 children are born with clubfoot every day, the imperative to address this challenge became paramount. CURE International India Trust (CURE India) emerged from a dedicated pursuit: to support families in treating clubfoot and catalyze action toward eradicating disabilities caused by Clubfoot. As a program of CURE International, a global healthcare NGO committed to establishing teaching hospitals and speciality community welfare programs worldwide, CURE India took up the mantle in 2009.
Clubfoot can be treated and children born with clubfoot can lead a normal and productive life. Over 220,000 children are born with clubfoot in the developing world every year. To eradicate disability from clubfoot from the face of this earth, the general public should well know about clubfoot as a birth deformity and its short-term treatment and long-term follow-up.
One regular query we receive from many families is whether pregnancy should be terminated because the child expected to be born has clubfoot. Phone calls, emails and personal visits of parents to our office and clinics are proof of ignorance of this birth deformity among the general public. It takes time to help young parents understand facts about clubfoot and much more time to help them understand the treatment process. However, when parents know the prevalence of clubfoot and the availability of simple non-surgical treatment for clubfoot, they leave deciding to return with their newborn child for treatment for clubfoot.
Ensuring that every child born with clubfoot undergoes timely Ponseti method treatment and receives proper follow-up is of utmost importance. However, various social and financial obstacles hinder children from accessing the right clinic for timely and effective treatment. Some parents mistakenly believe their child has polio, while others are under the misconception that birth deformities are untreatable. Certain communities view clubfoot as a divine curse, interpreting treatment as defiance against God's will, potentially inviting divine displeasure. Economic challenges lead some to perceive clubfoot treatment as prohibitively expensive, discouraging them from seeking medical opinions. Conversely, parents with financial means may opt for instant surgical solutions, inadvertently subjecting their children to a lifetime of pain, stiffness, and disability. These diverse beliefs and experiences stem from widespread misunderstandings, fear, and confusion surrounding disabilities, particularly clubfoot.
At the World Clubfoot Conference held at Vigyan Bhawan in 2017, the President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind outlined our purpose and mission by declaring, "We have to end Disability from Clubfoot entirely in India, ensuring that no child born with Clubfoot is left without treatment." This presidential endorsement solidified our resolve and underscored the national importance of our mission.
Established in 2009, our journey began with a focus on children, working in close partnership with government initiatives. Collaborating with state governments, we trained doctors to manage weekly clubfoot clinics, while the government assured the availability of casting materials for treatments and clinic space for the program.
There are also some reasons related to treatment that keep many children away from any treatment for clubfoot and in some children they end up having incomplete treatment. For example, doctors correct the deformed foot successfully with the Ponseti method, but the non-availability of the right and affordable foot abduction brace undermines all their sincere efforts. The corrected foot relapses because of this situation of non-availability of the right foot abduction brace. Doctors and their skills and initial correction do not guarantee completion of treatment for clubfoot. Equally or more important is the maintenance of correction for five years and for this the parent’s role in the success of treatment for clubfoot cannot be ignored. It is not the mistake of the doctor for the child to have relapsed feet, but the inability of the parent to buy expensive braces and in some cases the non-compliance of the parents that has failed the Ponseti method of clubfoot management. In a groundbreaking move, we committed to providing Ponseti braces—essential for clubfoot treatment—completely free of charge. This not only enabled us to offer no-cost treatment to families but also ensured that our reach extended to the most economically vulnerable. To fulfil our mission of ending disability from clubfoot in India, we aim to establish a weekly clubfoot clinic in every district across the country. We've made significant progress, currently operating 371 weekly designated clubfoot clinics in over 350 districts. However, our journey doesn't end here; we are on a constant expansion trajectory, striving to reach 766 districts soon. With your support, this ambitious goal is not just conceivable but achievable.
CURE India proudly holds the title of the world's largest clubfoot program, a testament to our commitment and impact. Yet, we don't stop here. Our aspiration is not merely to be the largest but to be the first country in the world to eliminate disability from clubfoot entirely
Dr Ponseti’s dedicated leadership in developing a new method of treatment for clubfoot will be remembered at least until the scientific world finds a way to prevent clubfoot in itself. The Ponseti method has saved thousands of children around the world from a lifetime of disability. The method is very specific and simple yet it has not successfully spread across the globe as it was expected. The Ponseti method explains the simple way to correct the foot with weekly serial casting that concludes with a simple procedure called tenotomy. This corrected foot has to be maintained for four to five years to prevent recurrence and relapse.
Many doctors were given good training in the method yet they couldn’t succeed in completing the treatment they initiated in children. Many children abruptly stopped the treatment. Many children got very good casting and tenotomy but did not get the proper foot abduction brace to maintain the correction. The casting and tenotomy get over by 4 to 6 weeks but the corrected foot must be maintained in the corrected position for the next 250 weeks using the proper foot abduction brace. The parents should be given the appropriate information on the long-term follow-up so that they are convinced, begin to care and remain dedicated.
CURE India since 2006 has developed a successful program management model to help children successfully complete the Ponseti method. The CURE Clubfoot program was first developed in Kenya as a national program and then spread globally. Parent counselling, parent teaching materials, refresher training for doctors who are already trained, active ownership of local government, standardisation of documentation, ensuring brace availability, long-term follow-up, reinforcement of protocol, and a system to ensure quality and standard training are some areas to which CURE India has contributed to taking the Ponseti method successfully to corners of the world.
This website is for mothers, fathers, grandparents or anyone who has a child with clubfoot. Even if parents have not heard about clubfoot, this book will give all the required information to care for their children well enough and save them from a lifetime disability. Accurate information on clubfoot, access to the Ponseti method and proper follow-up can help many children born with clubfoot get the foot corrected, prevent lifetime disability and lead a productive life.
Do NOT get shocked when you come across clubfoot. Clubfoot is not a serious problem; it can be treated with a simple technique using a weekly plaster casting called ‘The Ponseti Method’.
Site by NWD.