The team of Miracle Feet, an America-based, not-for-profit making organization that caters to children born of Clubfoot in low resourceful countries, which is in the country, has added their voices to the many voices for support by the government and its partners to cater to children suffering from clubfoot.
Speaking to the Hot Pepper prior to their departure, Dr. Ekene Isikaku, Senior Program Field Officer for West and Central African Countries, said their visit to Liberia was the organization’s way of helping to address the issue of clubfoot in the country.
Dr. Isikaku said the team came to Liberia to know how children are living with clubfoot, especially in rural parts of the country.
According to her, the main constraint confronting the wellbeing of children living with clubfoot in the country is the lack of medical facilitates in hard-to-reach areas, which has led them to call on the government, well-meaning Liberians and partners to provide support for the construction of more clinics to address the needs of children living with clubfoot.
She said they visited medical centers in Bong and Nimba counties.
The Senior Program Field Officer for West and Central African Countries of Miracle Feet said more needs to be done in the two counties visited in addressing the issue of children living with clubfoot.
Already in Africa, according to statistic, thousands of children from 0-12 years old are living with clubfoot, with the governments of some developing African countries prioritizing their children’s wellbeing. Clubfoot is a condition in which people live with their feet turned upside down. For Montserrado County, there is only one clinic catering to clubfoot children.
For his part, the Executive Director of the Liberia Clubfoot Program, Augustine Chiewolo, praised his developmental counterpart for coming in and providing their support to children living with clubfoot.
According to him, thousands of Liberian children are living with clubfoot due to the lack of support to address their status.
As a Liberian, he said, he believes that children suffering from clubfoot should be prioritized by the government, because they are the future generation of the country.
Chiewolo also added his voice to the team of Miracle Feet to call on the government to take charge of children living with clubfoot.