News | 29 January 2025
Researchers from Cardiff Metropolitan University are working with people living with leprosy in India to educate on the importance of appropriate footwear to help improve wound healing, reduce deformities and avoid the risk of amputation.
Following a recent visit to the Village of HOPE, Delhi, India, a 9km2 village which was created for people living with leprosy, Cardiff Met’s podiatry and product design teams are working alongside the
HOPE Foundation, part of
HOPE Worldwide, a global charity which helps people overcome poverty and homelessness.
The team of researchers from Cardiff Met will provide training on the importance of appropriate footwear to those living with leprosy in the Village of HOPE, their families, local shoe producers and the wider community.
The long-term goal is to establish a design and development facility in the village which can produce bespoke footwear specifically designed to promote dignity, active wound-healing and Charcot Foot stabilisation, which causes feet to deform and collapse most often resulting in hard to heal wounds on the bottom of the foot.
Dr Jane Lewis, Reader in Podiatric and Circulatory Medicine at Cardiff Metropolitan University is leading on the leprosy footwear project: “Contrary to popular belief, leprosy is a curable bacterial disease which requires many months of close contact to catch, but the social stigma still attached to it means that many people are well advanced in their symptoms before they reach out for help.”
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a contagious disease which affects the skin, mucous membranes and nerves, causing discoloration and lumps on the skin and, in severe cases, disfigurement and deformities. The condition mostly affects people living in tropical Africa and Asia, with 60% of sufferers based in India. According to the
World Health Organisation, more than 200,000 new cases of leprosy are reported every year.
People living with the condition are neuropathic, meaning they have no feeling in their feet so will not always be aware if footwear is causing injury through lack of support in one area, for instance the insole or a tight strap on a shoe that rubs. Research shows that the degree to which patients require bespoke footwear varies with the severity of the disease.
Dr Lewis continues: “We know that the correct shoes can significantly improve the symptoms, but the lack of education means many people continue to wear standard footwear which does not appropriately support their condition or protect their feet. Non-standard footwear can also identify the wearer as having leprosy, leading to victimisation. As a result, many patients continue to wear standard footwear even when it causes them significant injury.
“Our aim by co-producing this bespoke footwear is to create a broader choice of footwear, which will empower and support the individual’s medical and physical needs that they are subsequently happy to wear.”
KS Wungchipem, Director Skill Development North & East at the Hope Foundation, Village of HOPE said: “This initiative is going to be the first time in the history of the Village of HOPE’s project. Furthermore, we firmly believe that the village’s leprosy patients will greatly benefit from this programme.
“For our patients, having a shoe clinic in their village will be a happy occasion. It will help them to save time and money. Additionally, they will have access to a welcoming hassle free shoe clinic centre that they can access in a friendly environment. The partnership between Cardiff Met University and the HOPE Foundation will significantly alleviate the impoverished communities.”
