Students of the Art Club of the Ghana International School (GIS) in Accra have participated in a “Paint a Brace” initiative as part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Clubfoot Day on June 3, 2023.

This initiative led by the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and Hope Walks, a non-governmental organisation, was to put a smile on the faces of children receiving treatment for clubfoot at various facilities in the country.

Some of the braces designed by the pupils

Clubfoot is a range of foot abnormalities usually present at birth in which a baby’s foot is twisted out of shape or position. 

With the guidance of teachers and the team from CHAG and Hopes for Life, the art students actively participated in the project and came up with colorful footbraces last Wednesday in Accra.

Mrs. Nana Afua Adutwumwaa Adjetey,  Programme Manager, CHAG/Hope Walks Clubfoot Project, said the collaboration was to create clubfoot awareness and treatment.

“About one in 1,000 babies born in Ghana have the deformity. Because the cause is largely unknown, the disease is considered a curse with the belief that the babies are “river babies” or “dwarf babies.”

“These beliefs and the high stigma associated with the deformity force some families to abandon their children,” she said, adding that the disease was treatable and about 8,000 children had received treatment since 2008.

Treatment for clubfoot comes in two stages.
The Corrective Phase involves a series of manipulation, casting, and tenotomy (minor surgical procedure).

The Maintenance Phase involves wearing of foot abduction brace. At this stage, a clubfoot child wears the brace to maintain the correction achieved till age five.

In the first three months, the child wears the brace for 23 hours a day. The brace is taken off during bath time and exercise (stretches) is done for the baby’s foot. After three months, the child wears the braces during the night and nap time till age five to avoid clubfoot relapse or re-occurrence.

CHAG and Hope Walks urged individuals and institutions to replicate the project and support children with clubfoot. 
 
By Ernest Nutsugah