York Springs, PA, May 28, 2024 – Every three minutes, a child is born with clubfoot, a treatable condition. Clubfoot is a birth defect that twists the foot downward and inward. While we can’t prevent it, children born with clubfoot will likely be able to take their first steps on completely straight feet under proper treatment and care. The world recognizes June 3 as World Clubfoot Day, a special time to celebrate the kids treated and recognize the huge job ahead of us to treat everyone.
Celebrations this year will focus on the relaunch of RunFree2030, a bold global movement that is working to eradicate clubfoot disability in low- and middle-income countries. Its vision is a world where every child born with clubfoot can walk, play and run free. The Global Clubfoot Initiative leads the movement, of which Hope Walks is a founding member.
The Ponseti method, using casts and braces, is the preferred treatment worldwide. This minimally invasive procedure is named after Dr. Ignacio Ponseti, a Spanish-American physician who developed the technique in the 1950s. Still, the medical field only widely accepted it decades later. World Clubfoot Day is celebrated on June 3 each year in honor of Dr. Ponseti’s birthday. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 95.
“If not for this procedure developed by Dr. Ponseti, hundreds of thousands of children likely would go untreated,” Hope Walks President and Co-Founder Scott Reichenbach said. “His method took what was an expensive and invasive surgical procedure and made it accessible to many more children, especially those in low- and middle-income countries. It is no understatement to say it was a ‘game-changer’ for children facing a lifetime of disability.”
Since 2006, the clubfoot program that gave birth to Hope Walks has enrolled more than 162,000 kids with this treatable disability. Hope Walks’ partners treat children with clubfoot using the gold-standard Ponseti method of casts and braces in more than 180 clinics in 14 Latin America and African countries.
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About Hope Walks: Hope Walks partners with more than 180 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 Guidestar Platinum Seal of Transparency, Certified Transparent by Excellence in Giving, and accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.