Shafique Pirani, Clinical Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics, received the 2012 Humanitarian Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) for his commitment to improving the function and quality of life of Ugandan children afflicted with clubfoot.
Dr. Pirani, an orthopaedic surgeon at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, helped launch the Uganda Sustainable Clubfoot Care Project (USCCP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing widespread disability from neglected clubfoot, a birth defect in which one or both feet are turned inward and downward. The organization was instrumental in teaching and institutionalizing the nonsurgical Ponseti Method of clubfoot treatment throughout Uganda’s healthcare system.
“I am honored to receive this award. The most important thing about receiving this award is that it raises the awareness of problems experienced by children in developing nations affected with orthopaedic problems such as clubfeet, and that orthopaedic surgeons are instrumental in developing solutions, ” said Dr. Pirani.
The AAOS Humanitarian Award recognizes Fellows of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons who have distinguished themselves through outstanding musculoskeletal activities in the United States or abroad.