Description of Innovation

MiracleFeet is ending a leading cause of physical disability in low-income countries by tackling the issue of untreated clubfoot. Clubfoot, a common birth defect that is routinely fully treated in the developed world, affects one in every 800 children worldwide. It causes one or both feet to point upwards and inwards making it difficult and painful to walk. Ninety percent of children born with this common birth defect live in countries with limited access to proper treatment. By providing treatment to children born with clubfoot MiracleFeet enables them to live active, healthy lives, fully participating in their families and communities, instead of living with the pain, stigma, marginalization and lifelong poverty that often comes with being unable to walk properly. MiracleFeet creates and supports comprehensive clubfoot programs in low-income countries, building the capacity for each country to manage clubfoot disability on an on-going basis. Their model leverages partnerships with local healthcare providers in public hospitals, utilizing innovation and technology to facilitate efficient and effective service delivery while monitoring treatment quality and evaluating impact. To date, MiracleFeet has enrolled more than 35,000 children in treatment in 26 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.