<aside> ✅ The problem: Approximately 1.5 million cases of Podoconiosis, a preventable foot disease resulting from barefoot soil exposure, occur in Ethiopia out of the 4 million cases worldwide. Patients who suffer from this disease lose 45% of their economically productive time, resulting in a total economic burden of US $213 million each year.
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<aside> ✅ Our proposal: We developed a durable, environmentally-friendly shoe made with 100% recycled PET, costing just $3.07 per pair. Our design is also adjustable which mitigates the need for multiple shoe sizes and enables better hygiene due to the ease of cleaning. As a result, we can reduce the average economic burden per podoconiosis case by 97%.
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Only 31% of preschool children in rural Ethiopia have protective footwear.
Podoconiosis is a non-contagious foot disease caused by long-term barefoot exposure to irritant soils. It is widespread in sub-tropical and tropical areas and results in swelling of the feet and legs. Extreme swelling can restrict normal activities, which in many rural villages, can be essential to maintaining one’s livelihood. Podoconiosis disproportionately affects women and children and can often lead to depressive symptoms and even suicide.
A child having to wear broken shoes, leaving their feet vulnerable.
Cultural Stigma & Pre-existing Beliefs
In rural communities, widespread perceptions that shoes are heavy and restrictive for daily activities pose barriers to footwear usage. These perceptions are especially prevalent among women who consider the shoes to add necessary weight to the heavy items on their backs as they walk to markets. Many women also report they cannot walk on muddy and bumpy roads wearing shoes, making comfortability a high priority when designing a solution.
Lack of Education & Awareness
Many people do not attribute the development of podoconiosis to not wearing footwear. Villagers believe that the disease is caused by contact with other people who have the disease. Hence, elders advise against sharing shoes and encourage children to walk barefoot when anyone in the family has the disease, further exacerbating the problem.
Poverty & Economic Related Challenges
Rural Ethiopians have limited access to footwear due to the high cost of shoes and the inaccessibility of shoe markets in smaller villages. Shoe markets are often located in towns hours away from rural villages by foot.
This is the main root cause that we are focused to tackle with this project.