Two Boys Stand Tall After Clubfoot Treatment in Madagascar
A long-term medical training partnership between Mercy Ships and Malagasy healthcare professionals is improving treatment for children born with clubfoot in Madagascar.
Fanirisoa, 5, and Vonjy, 3, both born with the congenital condition that causes the feet to turn inwards, received treatment at Hospital Analakininina in Toamasina. Without intervention, clubfoot can lead to permanent disability.
The hospital uses the Ponseti method, a global standard for clubfoot care, which combines serial casting, minor surgery, and bracing. Peer-reviewed research shows the method corrects around 90% of cases, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Mercy Ships first helped establish a Ponseti-based clinic in Toamasina in 2015, training local clinicians to provide care independently. Current mentoring initiatives now focus on complex cases and expanding the skills of additional medical staff.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rachel Buckingham from the United Kingdom volunteered with Mercy Ships to train Malagasy surgeons in the operation theatre on precise procedures used in clubfoot treatment.
“The goal is to strengthen local teaching and training so that, one day, Mercy Ships is no longer needed,” she said.
Vonjy was treated entirely by Malagasy clinicians trained in earlier programmes, while his older brother Fanirisoa benefited from ongoing mentoring initiatives designed to build local surgical capacity.
Their father, Edmine, said: “If they had not received treatment, it would have been a heavy burden for us as parents. Their feet are just like everyone else’s. They can do everything the others can do.”
