The Katsina State Government and Women and Children Health Empowerment Foundation, WACHEF, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to eradicate Clubfoot cases among children in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Mr. Musa Adamu-Funtua , signed on behalf of the state government.
Adamu-Funtua said the partnership would scale up access to care and integrate clubfoot treatment into routine child health services in the state.
The MOU on Clubfoot Cases
He said that the MoU underscored the state government’s commitment to eradicating cases of clubfoot amongst children and integration of its treatment into the state’s routine child healthcare services.
According to him, the government will support WACHEF in implementing the clubfoot programme across the state and ensure its sustainability in order to eliminate the untreated clubfoot cases faced by children.
The commissioner urged WACHEF and its implementing partners to work within the rules and regulations encapsulated in the MoU.
“No child deserves to live with a disability that can be treated” he said
The Clubfoot Programme
The Project Coordinator of WACHEF, Babale Gambo-Maikidi, said the programme, initially implemented in Kano and Taraba States, was introduced in Katsina due to the alarming cases there.
“The clubfoot programme was initially run across Kano, Taraba, and other states. But when we looked at the number of patients in Kano, especially Orthopaedic Hospital Dala and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospitals, most of them were from Katsina.”
“This sends a signal that there are clubfoot cases in Katsina, and there is no clinic to provide such services to them, that is why they are going to Kano. “So, we ventured into Katsina with the hope of opening new clinics in Katsina, Funtua, and Daura,” he said.
The coordinator further said that the clubfoot programme in Katsina, was currently being implemented in General Hospital Funtua and General Amadi Rimi Orthopaedic Hospital.
Gambo-Maikidi said plans are ongoing to open another treatment centre in Daura.
He said 20 cases of clubfoot have been identified WACHEF in one activity in General Hospital Funtua, and the organisation has commenced treatment.
About Clubfoot
A medical/health website, the Mayo Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/clubfoot/symptoms-causes/syc-20350860), described Clubfoot as a condition present at birth in which a baby’s foot is pointed in and down.
The tissues connecting the muscles to the bone are called tendons. In clubfoot, the tendons are shorter than usual, pulling the foot out of position.
