Meet Mr. Clubfoot, a Pioneer of Ponseti in Africa
Diriisa Kitemagwa is an orthopedic officer at the Mulago Clubfoot Clinic in Kampala, Uganda. But the title he’s better known by: Mr. Clubfoot. Diriisa and a small team of pioneering health workers started treating the condition, which affects 1 in 800, over two decades ago in Uganda. Their advocacy and training efforts are the foundation of the work that continues today.
Diriisa has personally trained and mentored a network of hundreds of health workers to identify and treat this leading birth defect. Through his work, thousands of children today can walk and run for life.
Uganda became the first country in the world to address clubfoot using a public health approach and to introduce care into national health strategies starting in the early 2000s.