MiracleFeet

PHA worked with MiracleFeet, a global charity dedicated to addressing clubfoot, for several years. Our mission was to shine a light on the global disparity in clubfoot treatment access, despite it being one of the most prevalent congenital conditions.

In many low-resource countries, access to treatment is limited or non-existent, despite there being an affordable treatment method, called the Ponseti Method.

To amplify awareness of this issue on a global scale, we facilitated a complex press trip. Over a six-month period, we planned a visit to Senegal, involving a team of producers and journalists from the BBC World Service.

BBC had already covered the Ponseti Method, so needed a new angle for the story. Therefore, we worked closely with the Global Health producer and their team to suggest that they followed the journey of three teenage case studies who had been able to access transformative clubfoot treatment in Senegal due to the partnership MiracleFeet had formed with local healthcare providers.

Their objective was to capture compelling footage and conduct interviews, making it a nationwide effort with active participation from multiple individuals at MiracleFeet.

This way the BBC were able to see the challenges clubfoot can cause children in later life, if they have not received the right access to healthcare and lifechanging treatments.

The results were profound, leading to over 40 pieces of coverage, including BBC News Online, BBC World Service TV & Radio, BBC One News and BBC Africa.

Alongside organising the press trip, our day-to-day press office activity included expert commentary and thought leadership, highlighting recent milestones and advancements in clubfoot.

This included MiracleFeet’s 80,000 patient mark, and their creation of the world’s first interactive simulation of untreated clubfoot, to showcase the charity’s role in healthcare innovation. We also told the stories of case studies and fundraisers.

We carried out influencer engagement activity involved to engage the clubfoot community, including World Clubfoot Day and International Day of Persons with Disabilities, securing 26 social media posts from influencers and members of the clubfoot community.

As well as working closely with MiracleFeet’s UK Ambassadors, Jonathan Broom-Edwards, Aaron McKibbin, and Petra Klingler. This involved using updates about their profession to proactively outreach to media, highlighting their success story with clubfoot and offering interview time as part of their role as a MiracleFeet Ambassador.