Efforts to strengthen early detection and treatment of disabilities among children received a boost in Taita Taveta County after healthcare workers underwent specialised training on the identification and management of clubfoot and other congenital conditions.
The training, held in Mwatate and supported by Clubfoot Care for Kenya (CCK), a Hope Walks partner, brought together nurses and rehabilitation staff from across the county to enhance their skills in identifying, managing, and educating communities about clubfoot and related childhood disabilities.
The initiative is being implemented in partnership with CURE Kenya and CBM Global Disability Inclusion and seeks to strengthen collaboration between health institutions, county governments, and communities to ensure children born with disabilities receive timely care.
The two-day programme is designed to build the capacity of healthcare providers and community health promoters who play a key role in linking affected families with treatment services.
The first day focused on training nurses and rehabilitation staff, while the second day will target community health promoters responsible for mobilising and educating families at the grassroots.
Speaking during the training on Monday, Erick Mwangi from Clubfoot Care for Kenya said the programme seeks to ensure that healthcare workers are equipped with the necessary skills to create awareness and guide parents on the treatment options available for children born with clubfoot.
He noted that although the condition is treatable, many children still miss out on care due to delayed identification and lack of information among parents and communities.
“According to National Statistics, children born with Clubfoot disability in a year are approximately 2000. As an organisation, Clubfoot Care for Kenya is able to reach slightly above 1400 children annually,” said Mwangi.
He explained that the remaining children who are not reached by treatment programmes often fall through the cracks because their conditions are not identified early or their parents are not aware that treatment is available.
To address this challenge, Mwangi said Clubfoot Care for Kenya has partnered with the Taita Taveta County Government to provide treatment services at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi.
Healthcare workers undergoing the training were equipped with knowledge on how to educate parents and community members about clubfoot and encourage early treatment.
“We are training them so that they can reach out to citizens and inform them on how the treatment is done so that they can bring their children who are affected for treatment,” he said.
Mwangi also emphasised the importance of early identification of disabilities among children, noting that prompt medical intervention significantly improves treatment outcomes.
“It is very important for the children born with disabilities to be identified early so that doctors can assess them and give referrals in time so that corrective treatment can start as early as possible, especially for clubfoot,” he said.
Isaac Mutua, an advisor with Clubfoot Care for Kenya, said the organisation works with volunteer advisors at clinics to support parents whose children are undergoing treatment.
He explained that when parents first learn that their child has clubfoot, they often feel overwhelmed and uncertain about what to do.
“When a child is born with such a condition, it is important to note that they can be treated and the condition reversed,” said Mutua.
He urged parents to seek treatment early, noting that the condition can be corrected within a relatively short period when detected in time.
According to Mutua, treatment sessions are conducted weekly at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi, where affected children receive specialised care.
“We sponsor the plaster and the special shoes for the children and we encourage all parents whose children have this condition to bring their children for treatment,” he said.
He explained that when treatment begins early, corrective procedures can take between four and eight weeks, with children visiting the clinic once every week.
However, he warned that delays in treatment can complicate the process and may require surgical intervention.
Mutua commended the county government for supporting the initiative, noting that clinics for children with clubfoot are conducted every Tuesday at Moi County Referral Hospital.
At the treatment centre, children diagnosed with clubfoot undergo a structured treatment process designed to correct the condition and prevent recurrence.
Tharis Kambe, Clinic Coordinator at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi, explained that treatment begins with the casting stage, where the affected leg is wrapped with plaster to gradually correct its position.
The process involves applying four to six casts over a period of four to six weeks, with each cast changed weekly.
The second stage involves a minor procedure known as Tenotomy, where a minor operation is performed to release the tendons and allow proper movement of the foot.
According to Kambe, the procedure also helps prevent the condition from recurring once correction has been achieved.
The final stage involves the maintenance phase where the child wears braces or special shoes to keep the foot in the correct position.
During the first three months, the braces are worn both day and night before the child transitions to wearing them only at night until the age of five years.
Partners supporting the programme say collaboration between medical institutions and communities is critical in ensuring that children with disabling conditions receive appropriate care.
Fiona Masai from CURE Children’s Hospital in Kijabe said the hospital works with partners including Clubfoot Care for Kenya and the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya to provide care for children with disabling or potentially disabling conditions.
She said the hospital conducts mobile clinics across the country where children are assessed and treatment plans developed.
“We work through partnerships and in terms of the help that we need, it is to make sure that we are mobilising as many of these children as possible so that they can get the care that they need as early as possible because some of these conditions can actually be corrected,” she said.
Masai urged parents to ensure they attend routine clinics for their children so that doctors can monitor their development and identify any challenges early.
“The most important thing is making sure that as a parent, you follow up on the clinics that doctors prescribe for your newborns because that is the point at which, when assessment is being done, some of these things can be picked up because doctors do a very thorough examination of the child and their developmental milestones,” said Masai.
Disability advocates in the county also called for greater community awareness and support for children living with disabilities.
Pauline Mwake, a representative of persons with disabilities from Sagalla in Voi Sub County and the county coordinator for albinism, said some children still fail to receive treatment because their parents lack information or fear stigma.
“For parents, let’s not hide our children who are born with these conditions because no one makes an application to give birth to disabled children. Bring them out so that they can be assessed and helped,” said Mwake.
Darius Kinusa, Chairperson of the Disability Umbrella in Taita Taveta County and a beneficiary of treatment supported by Clubfoot Care for Kenya, urged the county government to strengthen partnerships with development partners to make assistive devices more accessible.
“We urge our county government to partner with donors who come as they have come now to ensure that PWDs don’t travel to Kijabe or Mombasa in search of assistive devices. Let them work together so that these facilities can be brought close to us,” said Kinusa.
He also called for improved accessibility in public facilities to ensure that persons living with disabilities are able to access services with ease.
By Arnold Linga Masila
