miraclefeet: Treating Clubfoot One Step at a Time
presentation at Adult Forum by
Leslie Loyd, Operations Manager
October 27, 2013
Treating clubfoot one step at a time.
This is clubfoot: untreated
One out of every 750 children is born with clubfoot worldwide;
untreated clubfoot is a leading cause of physical disability in the developing world.
Untreated Clubfoot
Yasmin
This is clubfoot: treated
Yasmin from Brazil, seen previous page - treated for clubfoot
Mia Hamm, US Olympic soccer star – treated for clubfoot at birth
With treatment, children born with clubfoot can run, walk and play – and live fully productive, active lives.
The solution – low cost, very effective, non-surgical treatment
In the last 5-10 years, there has been a major shift in clubfoot treatment.
From Surgery ...
- Ineffective (20-30% success)
- Invasive, hard on child
- Expensive
To the Ponseti Method
- Effective in 95% cases
- Non-surgical, easy on child
- Inexpensive, low tech
Unlike surgery, the Ponseti Method is ideally suited to developing country environments.
The Ponseti Method now makes it feasible to treat kids born with clubfoot in all countries
Gentle manipulation and casting (5-8 weeks) Bracing (4 years) 
Full correction - without surgery
However, very few children are receiving the treatment they need
miraclefeet annual estimates based on data from different clubfoot organizations
Living conditions in developing countries heighten the need for disability prevention
Disability in developing countries often leads to:
- neglect and discrimination
- increased rates of abuse
- illiteracy and unemployment
- and a life of extreme poverty
miraclefeet is seeking to change this
- miraclefeet increases access to proper treatment for children born with clubfoot in developing countries through partnerships with local healthcare providers.
- miraclefeet helps our local partners transform children lives for about $250 a child
The miraclefeet model: efficient, sustainable
More children treated - less unnecessary disability in the world
Over 2,700 children in treatment in 9 countries
Bracing is a big obstacle, especially in developing countries
- Currently available braces are uncomfortable or prohibitively expensive
- miraclefeet is working with Stanford University, Clarks Shoes and Suncast to design a new, easy-to-use brace for less than $20
Current model used in most countries New miraclefeet brace.
The miraclefeet brace will go into production in early 2014.
Yasmin, 2 years old, fully corrected after 3 months – Brazil
Jorgito, started treatment at age 5 and is now playing soccer - Nicaragua
Maima and Youkoi, 12-year-old twins - Liberia
Three months later, Maimoi and Youkoi are both attending school for the first time
Pournima, 2 months old, fully corrected within 7 weeks - India
Thank you so much for your interest and support!
Videos of patient stories and more are available on miralcefeet's website.
Appendices
miraclefeet has proven that our approach works and that it is scalable
miraclefeet plan is to reach 10,000+ new children a year by 2016
| Country | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | FY 2017 |
| Mexico | 301 | 600 | 700 | 800 | 900 |
| Brazil | 95 | 285 | 475 | 740 | 1,050 |
| Nicaragua | 126 | 150 | 150 | 100 | 100 |
| India (Existing) | 1,162 | 1,330 | 1,410 | 1,500 | 1,650 |
| India (New) | 0 | 940 | 1,350 | 1,510 | 1,670 |
| Zimbabwe | 88 | 189 | 259 | 364 | 470 |
| Liberia | 173 | 250 | 250 | 225 | 200 |
| Southern Africa | 105 | 335 | 445 | 480 | 575 |
| Ecuador | 3 | 210 | 250 | 300 | 330 |
| Tanzania | 0 | 300 | 575 | 800 | 1,000 |
| Philippines | 0 | 100 | 200 | 500 | 800 |
| Peru | 0 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Other Latin America | 0 | 70 | 260 | 380 | 490 |
| Other Africa | 0 | 40 | 280 | 525 | 800 |
| Other Asia | 0 | 0 | 300 | 750 | 1,200 |
| Total | 2,053 | 4,899 | 7,054 | 9,174 | 11,485 |
| % from Existing Countries | 82% | 94% | 83% | 74% | 69% |
| % from New Countries | 18% | 6% | 17% | 26% | 31% |
| Annual Growth | 326% | 179% | 144% | 130% | 125% |
Two sources of growth: depth and breadth
A growing base of donors has enabled expansion to date
Diverse funding sources, with emphasis on individuals and foundations
Foundations
- Oak Foundation
- Ronald McDonald House Charities
- Stanford University
- Passport Foundation
- Matthew 25 Ministries
- Starfish Care and Relief
- Staenberg Family Foundation
- Heyman Family Fund
- Llura and Gordon Gund Foundation
- Cranford Rotary Charitable Fund
- William Hendricks Family Foundation
- Women’s Syndicate Association
- STEPS UK
Corporations
- Clarks
- MD Orthopedics
- Suncast
- King and Spalding
- Eurosport
- Wasserman Media
miraclefeet Partnerships
- Global partners:
- Governing member of the Global Clubfoot Initiative (GCI), based in the UK with global membership, Chesca is also a Trustee of GCI
- Work closely with Ponseti International Association, University of Iowa
- Key partner in the development of the Global Clubfoot Registry, working with the Bioinformatics Department, University of Iowa
- miraclefeet brace project: Stanford University, Clarks Shoes, Suncast, King & Spalding
- Local partners:
- Brazil: University of São Paulo, Hospital Martagao Gesteira
- Mexico: Mexico Clubfoot Foundation, Mexican Pediatric Orthopedic Society
- Ecuador: Fundacion Herman Miguel, plus four public hospitals
- Nicaragua: Three public hospitals, Rotary International-Managua
- India: Cure India Trust
- Liberia: FACORC
- Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Sustainable Clubfoot Organization
- Southern Africa: STEPS-South Africa
- Tanzania: Bugando Hospital and Lakes Region Clubfoot Programme