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STEPS Clubfoot Care raises awareness on World Birth Defects Day

───   KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 12:13 Thu, 03 Mar 2022

STEPS Clubfoot Care raises awareness on World Birth Defects Day | News Article

World Birth Defects Day is a day that unites people and organisations working in the field of birth defects.

Founder and CEO of Steps Clubfoot Care, Karen Mara Moss, which is a non-profit support organisation that operates in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, and Seychelles, tells OFM News that she started the organisation in 2005 to introduce and promote the non-invasive Ponseti method of clubfoot treatment, and support families going through the treatment, as her son also suffered from clubfoot.

Moss says World Birth Defects Day also focuses on raising awareness of the causes of birth defects and their impact to assist to destigmatise many conditions that are still regarded with suspicion around the world.

“Every year, around 11 000 children are born with clubfoot in South Africa. Clubfoot is when one or two feet are twisted inward or pointed down in a rigid position. It is a congenital condition, meaning that it’s present at birth. Clubfoot can be treated. We support 35 clinics in the state health sector including the Northern Cape and Free State, training healthcare workers, providing advocacy, supplying parent education, leaflets posters, and medical devices,” she said.

Moss further adds that in the past, many of these children were regarded with superstition and fear. Some were even forced to live a life of disability. She says that whilst this still occurs, there is an increasing awareness around the world that this condition is not caused by parents and can be treated effectively so that these children can live active and productive lives with full mobility.

 

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