SOS Zanzibar
ALGEOS and Infant Club Foot Appeal to the rescue
Liverpool based Algeos (Prosthetics and Orthotics supplier) with the help of leading industry partners sourced thousands of pounds (6 Figure Value) worth of Podiatry, Orthotics and Prosthetics products and equipment. Algeos’ collaboration with the Infant Club Foot Appeal charity (ICA) started few months back, when ICA approached Algeos and sought their expertise in helping to equip a brand new Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) workshop for its clinic in Zanzibar, a long-term vision of ICA made possible thanks to its generous donors.
The P&O workshop equipped by Algeos, fully funded and purchased by ICA’s donors, aims to transform the lives of thousands of disabled children in Zanzibar with clubfoot and other feet deformities…
Global Problem - Local Solution
Clubfoot (or otherwise known as CTEV - congenital talipes equino varus) is a foot deformity affecting one or both feet and is a widely spread deformity in Zanzibar where up to 50 babies per month are born with their feet turned inwards and upwards. Without treatment these children are only able to crawl for the rest of their lives. If babies are treated soon after birth, it is possible to transform their lives with a low cost, high impact clinical intervention to re-align their feet with a method called the Ponseti technique. The Ponseti Method uses a gentle, manual manipulation of the foot, followed by application of toe-to-groin plaster casts.
Algeos is a leading supplier of Orthotic and Prosthetic consumables on a global scale, and is a proud supporter of the Infant Club Foot Appeal. After the initial meeting between Algeos and Infant Club Foot Appeal, it became clear that in order to set up a functional Orthotic and Prosthetic workshop, Algeos needed to help furnish the workshop and supply a huge amount of products ranging from footwear, right up to orthopaedic bracing. Thanks to its extensive experience in the P&O field, Algeos was able to advise ICA on essential P&O workshop equipment, all of which was bought by the donors of the Infant Club foot Appeal to develop the Orthotic and Prosthetic workshop in Zanzibar.
In addition, Algeos used its numerous links to rally round the UK Orthotic and Prosthetic industry and managed to source over thousands of pounds worth (6 Figure Value) of equipment and quality products. All equipment was generously donated by Algeos and its partners to ICA’s clubfoot clinic in Zanzibar and will significantly improve lives of thousands of children suffering from clubfoot on the island.
Algeos Exceeding Expectations
The shipment of an entire Orthotic and Prosthetic workshop with modern equipment and materials left Liverpool on 18th August – its final destination will be the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital Zanzibar. The containers will travel 4781 miles and its journey will mark the beginning of a dramatic change in the lives of all disabled adults and children on the island. The workshop is due to be open in the next few months.
Algeos not only supplies the best Prosthetics and Orthotics solutions to Podiatrists and Physiotherapists; it is now looking to help treat foot problems to thousands of disabled children not just in Zanzibar, Africa but across the globe. Algeos CEO Hugh Sheridan stated; ‘‘we are unique in that we are offering life changing products that not only change the way people move but change the way people feel. We take great pride in our corporate social responsibility duties; this ensures everyone feels better - it is not just about getting healthcare products to the ones who can afford it but to those who need it the most.’’
Infant Club Foot Appeal would like to thank its generous donors that have helped with the purchase of the equipment for the Orthotics and Prosthetics workshop and made ICA’s vision to help amputee patients in Zanzibar happen. Algeos would like to thank the following UK partners who helped source all the products/ equipment ranging from footwear, right up to orthopaedic bracing;
Ortho Europe (Bradford), Blatchfords (Sheffield), Ken Hall Footwear (Kettering), Alder Hey Children’s Hospital (Liverpool), Renace Orthotics (Sheffield), Royal Berkshire Hospital (Reading), Salts Techstep (Birmingham), King Mill Hospital (Sutton-In-Ashfield), and Langer Orthotics (Stone).
Background
Dr. Charlotte Hawkins, a specialist in lower limb paediatrics in Harley Street London, collaborated with Algeos (Leading Orthotics and Prosthetics supplier) to set up a clinic to handle an increasing problem of clubfoot at the island of Zanzibar in Africa.
Dr. Hawkins was astonished by the severity and scale of the problem in Zanzibar; working conditions were a far cry from a clinical treatment room of a Western standard, lack of supplies was a constant issue, mothers had to carry their disabled child for miles to get treatment, technicians with no training routinely unwittingly mis-casted patients which led to increased deformity, and witchcraft doctors poured boiling water over feet to "bring out the devil" that caused the disability, all of this was just the beginning. Furthermore there was a shortage of basic tools and the technicians were struggling to treat children using builders plaster and broken glass as cutting equipment.
Dr. Hawkins launched the Infant Club Foot Appeal (ICA) charity and established the first clubfoot clinic at the Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Stone Town (Zanzibar). This charity is focused on training clinic staff in effective use of the Ponseti method, using Orthotics and Prosthetics materials supplied by Algeos.
One of Infant Club Foot Appeal’s visions is to set up a centre of excellence at the clubfoot clinic in Zanzibar. As part of the programme the charity is setting up a Prosthetics and Orthotics workshop at the clinic. For this exciting project ICA has teamed up with their longstanding supporter Algeos.
More Information in regards to infant club foot appeal:
- www.infantclubfootappeal.org
- www.facebook.com/infantclubfootappealcharity
- www.rsm-wallofhonour.com/dr-charlotte-g-s-hawkins.aspx