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‘Don’t stigmatise children with clubfoot’
Healthworkers at 37 Military Hospital attending to a child with clubfoot
The Head of Orthopaedics and Trauma Unit at the 37 Military Hospital, Lt. Col. Delali Adzigbli, has advised the public not to stigmatise mothers who give birth to babies with clubfoot.
Describing clubfoot as a “spontaneous deformity”, he said the condition did not affect only the poor neither was it a fault from the baby or mother, therefore, “there is no reason anybody should be stigmatised.”
He said the condition was treated free of charge and children could grow up to live normal lives, hence money should not be an impediment to anyone seeking treatment for the condition.
“When the baby is born, the tissues are very soft so they respond very well to manipulation and as they mature, they are able to stretch out and allow the feet to assume their natural position and that is the aim of the treatment,” he stated.
Lt. Col Adzigbli made the remarks last Thursday when the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and Hope Walks, a non-governmental organisation, collaborated with the 37 Military Hospital to mark this year’s World Clubfoot Day.
“Clubfoot is a birth defect in which one or both feet of a child is/are twisted inwards and downwards. About one in 1,000 babies born in Ghana have the deformity.
The commemoration was to create awareness and provide treatment for children with the condition. About 15 children born with clubfoot at different stages of treatment were attended to by health workers at Osei Kwame Despite Block at the 37 Military Hospital.
Lt. Col Adzigbli, explaining the treatment process, noted that an assessment was done to determine the severity of deformity before it was corrected stage by stage.
He said early detection was appropriate but the condition could still be corrected if the child was older. “The earlier treatment is started, the better”, he said.
Pastor Joseph Andrews, Parent Advisor at the Osei Kwame Despite Block at the 37 Millitary Hospital, also debunked myths associated with clubfoot and asked parents not to fret when they saw signs of the condition in new borns.
“It is a sickness like polio, chickenpox or measles, it affects everyone so don’t hide your baby; just come out and receive treatment,” he said.
Nana Afua Adutwumaa Adjeitey, Programme Manager CHAG/Hope Walks, was impressed with the awareness and the impact the organisation continued to make.
She said the organisation would intensify education and continue to support treatment for clubfoot.
Ms. Esther Esi Gyekye, Clinic Supervisor at the Children’s Block, indicated that about 30 cases of clubfoot were being managed at the facility and more parents were turning up with their wards for treatment.
Apart from the 37 Military Hospital, treatment for clubfoot is available free of charge on selected days at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, St. John of God Hospital, Duayaw-Nkwanta, Bono Ahafo, SDA Hospital, Kwadaso, Kumasi, every Friday and SDA Hospital, Gbawe, Accra.
By Ernest Nutsugah
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
