Clubfoot shouldn’t be a reason a child suffers or struggles to walk. That is why STEPS is working with partner clinics to make sure children in rural South Africa don’t miss out on care because of transport inaccessibility.
South Africa (18 March 2025) – It’s crazy to think that where you’re born, particularly the geographical location, can have a significant impact on whether you can have access to basic and vital services required for your overall well-being.
For many children born in rural areas or communities that often fall into the category of marginalised or underserved, accessing basic clinics or healthcare services is a huge challenge due to the scarcity of such facilities or hefty transport costs to get to them.
At least 2,000 children are born every year with clubfoot in South Africa, according to STEPS Clubfoot Care. Of these numbers, a considerable amount of these children hail from disadvantaged communities where early effective clubfoot care, which is essential to preventing disability, is hard to come by.
“For many families in rural areas, the biggest challenge to clubfoot treatment is transport. Getting to clinics for regular care is essential in the early months, but transport costs make it difficult for many families to continue treatment,” STEPS explains.
To help address this challenge and ensure more babies are assisted before it’s too late, the charity recently shared that it is working with partner clinics to advocate for temporary Care Dependency Grants to make sure children don’t miss out on care because of transport inaccessibility.
Receiving such a grant would help parents or caregivers with much-needed funds to take care of a child with clubfoot and in need of special care far from home.
This approach, in line with STEPS’ ultimate mission to break boundaries in treatment, will serve to help many families in need reach the care they need and get many little feet walking around freely.
Sources: STEPS
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