York Springs, PA – Hope Walks, an international nonprofit headquartered in South Central PA, is joining global efforts to recognize March 3 as World Birth Defects Day. Hope Walks is part of the solution in 14 countries in Latin America and Africa for children born with clubfoot, a treatable birth defect.
Hope Walks has enrolled nearly 170,000 children in clubfoot treatment. Through donor support, these families access care at no cost to them, forever transforming their lives from one of disability to one with hope for the future.
Birth defects affect nearly 8 million infants, or 6 percent of all infants born globally each year. Almost 200,000 children are born with clubfoot yearly or about one every three minutes.
Unlike some birth defects, clubfoot is relatively easy to correct when caught early using a series of weekly casts. On average, the feet are straight within four to eight weeks of casts. The child then wears a foot abduction brace, mostly at night, until age five to maintain the correction. This process is known as the Ponseti method, developed by Dr. Ignacio Ponseti, a Spanish/American physician, in the 1950s. Still, the medical community did not widely accept the technique until the 1990s. It is now the world standard for clubfoot treatment.
World Birth Defect Day was first observed on March 3, 2015. Its goal is to unite people and organizations to spread awareness around prevention, treatment, and care for those with birth defects. “Birth defect” is a medical term, but it does not mean the individual is “defective.” Hope Walks believes each of the children it supports is special and works to raise awareness and end the stigma associated with this treatable condition.
This year’s World Birth Defects Day theme is “Every Journey Matters.” Hope Walks values each family’s journey to find clubfoot healing. They often face many challenges, including being outcast or stigmatized for having a child born with clubfoot.
For more information about World Birth Defects Day, visit www.worldbirthdefectsday.org or contact Hope Walks for more information about clubfoot.
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About Hope Walks: Hope Walks partners with more than 190 clinics in 14 Latin American and African countries. We pair quality clubfoot treatment with compassionate care from counselors (parent advisors), empowering local healthcare workers and educating parents and caregivers. Hope Walks is a 501 (c) (3) public charity with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, Guidestar Platinum Seal of Transparency, Certified Transparent by Excellence in Giving, and accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
