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Before SCA’s operations were suspended, dozens of children with clubfoot and hip dysplasia (DDH) in the Northeastern states were receiving physiotherapy services every day, but now they are unable to get the services they urgently need.
Ghulamuddin, a resident of Waruk village in Farkar district of Takhar province, is worried about his youngest son Nizamuddin.
“All my children were born with clubfoot but they were treated at the SCA rehabilitation centre and are now healthy and normal. However, I am concerned about the lack of services for my youngest child who has a similar problem. He is four months old. He has come to the SCA office four times since he was born but there was no activity and he has gone home without any services,” he said.
Nizamuddin’s mother, Fahima, said the family had been unable to find any other institutions in Takhar or the neighboring provinces of Kunduz and Baghlan who could treat him.
“I don’t have enough money to travel abroad for my child’s treatment. I am worried about his future and that he may be left with a disability,” she said.
Nizamuddin is one example of dozens of children whose treatment was discontinued after SCA was shut down.
Dr Homa Azimi, head of the physiotherapy department at the SCA regional office in Talocan, explains that early intervention is crucial for children with DDH and clubfoot, otherwise the disabilities can become permanent.
“Families have to send their children to physiotherapy centres at an early age,” she said. “I am concerned about this situation as there are no active centres offering physiotherapy services in the area. It is a big risk for families with disabled newborns.”