Nana Afua Adutwumwaa Adjetey, Programmes Manager of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) has appealed to the media to intensify public awareness on the clubfoot disease and treatment in the country.
She said, about 180,000 children are born with clubfoot disease annually around the globe and if not treated, could lead to disability.
Nana Adutwumwaa Adjetey said CHAG, as part of efforts to combat the disease, had offered free treatment to over 8,632 affected children and provided financial and material support to over 100 families of children with the disease since 2008 when it started its advocacy and awareness creation programme on the disease in Ghana.
She was speaking at the closing of a two-day free maternal and child screening on the disease alongside an identification, detection and referral training for selected nurses and all mothers of the treated babies at the Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) Hospital at Kwadaso, in the Kwadaso Municipality of the Ashanti region.
It was organised by the CHAG and supported by Hope Walks and Brazza Foundation International, a United States of America (USA) based Christian Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Kwadaso SDA Hospital.
The aim was to treat children with the disease and create awareness as part of the Association’s advocacy campaign activities on the disease.
She appealed to the government and other health stakeholders for more financial and material support to enable the Association to achieve its goals.
Dr Prosper Moh, the Orthopaedic Surgeon of the Saint John of God Hospital at Duayaw Nkwanta in the Ahafo region and Medical Director of CHAG said, free treatment and counselling were given to over 70 persons within the two days.
He urged the people to avoid stigma and wrong misconceptions about the disease though it was a very common birth deformity that turned one foot or both feet inward and downward.
“Clubfoot has no known cause, not caused by evil spirits, not the parents’ fault or a result of any parental action and nothing can be done to prevent it but to begin treatment soon after birth,” he stated.
He commended the organizers for the exercise since the beneficiaries also reported different diseases for treatment and referral to the related health facilities.
GNA
