India (MNN) — CURE Clubfoot Worldwide plans to eradicate clubfoot as a life-long disability through 100 countrywide programs over a ten-year span. By the end of 2008, CURE plans to have cared for over 7,000 clubfoot children. The launch of clubfoot programs in India will help them reach this goal.
Because India's population is so large, three statewide programs were established rather than one countrywide program. The program will train nationals to perform the Ponseti Method, and combat the prejudice against clubfoot by counseling families and raising awareness in their communities.
Clubfoot affects over 100,000 children annually, and almost 80% of these live in developing nations. CURE programs have already offered care and treatment to children in Honduras, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Cambodia. By using the Ponseti method, clubfoot can be corrected without surgery. Ligaments, joints and tendons are stretched under gentle manipulations, which gradually reduce the deformity. A plaster cast is applied after each manipulation to soften ligaments and retain the degree of correction. After a few weeks in the splints, the foot looks normal.
The first statewide program in Bangalore has seen 100 patients in the last 3 months. Two other programs are planned for Mumbai and Delhi
