Peshawar, In Paraplegic Center Hayatabad Peshawar, a grand function was organized on the occasion of World Club Foot Day and gifts were distributed among club foot children. Peshawar Development Authority Director General Captain (Rtd) Khalid Mehmood attended the event as a special guest. On this occasion, he mingled and interacted with the treated and recovering clubfoot children and their parents at the centre. He expressed satisfaction that the paraplegic center provides free and successful treatment to clubfoot children.
According to Directorate General Information and PRs – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the day and night hard work of the staff at the center helps children with congenital club feet recover in just a few years and engage in sports and education, starting to live a normal life with their parents. The treatment of clubfoot children is very patient and expensive due to which children of poor parents become permanently disabled. The services provided in Paraplegic Center Peshawar for the treatment of club foot are commendable, and the staff members were congratulated for their efforts.
Director General PDA has organized free treatment and rehabilitation of paraplegics, including patients suffering from spinal cord diseases, workshops for the preparation of their artificial limbs and devices, and support for speech-challenged persons and autism sufferers. The sincere services of the administration, especially its Chief Executive Dr. Syed Muhammad Ilyas, were appreciated for unique medical services in various fields. Full cooperation was assured.
Paraplegic Center Chief Executive Dr. Syed Muhammad Ilyas, Director Rehab and Clubfoot Program Coordinator Ameer Zeib discussed the clubfoot treatment program and its further expansion. Dr. Ilyas highlighted that the center has been treating clubfoot children free of charge since 2018, including complete rehabilitation from the initial casting to four to five years. Transport fare is also provided to deserving families to ensure no child is left untreated due to poverty. So far, 3666 clubfoot children have been treated completely free of charge in the center, and clinics have been established in three major hospitals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in Islamabad.
World Clubfoot Day is celebrated worldwide to create awareness about this birth defect, which affects millions globally but is completely curable with timely diagnosis. The purpose of this day is to encourage treated children and to pay tribute to the medical professionals involved. An estimated 8.9 million people are born with clubfoot globally, with 7.8 million living with permanent disability due to untreated conditions. In Pakistan, one child in every 200,000 is born with clubfoot annually, but timely treatment results in more than 95% recovery.
Miracle Feet, a global organization, is dedicated to the treatment of clubfoot children, partnering with local institutions to provide free treatment using the Ponsetti technique. Established in 2010, Miracle Feet has treated over 95,000 clubfoot children in 433 clinics across 37 countries.
At the event, Chief Guest Captain (retd) Khalid Mehmood, Chief Executive Dr. Syed Mohammad Ilyas, and Director Rehab Amirzeb interacted with the children and their parents, taking selfies and distributing gifts and sweets.
