An Erasmus+ funded European project that promotes innovative training for the prevention and knowledge transfer for the treatment of diabetic foot in Latin America
Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases with the greatest impact in Latin America, and its complications, especially diabetic foot, remain one of the main causes of avoidable amputation. In countries like Colombia and Peru, factors such as the lack of early diagnosis, the shortage of specialized training, and limited access to healthcare resources worsen a situation that particularly affects the most vulnerable communities.
In this context, FootForward was born, an ambitious international project funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program, which advocates for a comprehensive strategy to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetic foot through education, technological innovation, and cross-continental cooperation.
Training to improve diabetic foot care
With a duration of 36 months, FootForward focuses its actions on capacity building in higher education and existing healthcare systems in Colombia and Peru. This initiative promotes specific training programs aimed at teaching staff and university students, healthcare professionals, biomedical engineers, and technology developers, with the objective of improving early detection and reducing complications associated with diabetes.
In parallel, FootForward transfers this knowledge directly to patients through practical training actions in hospitals and clinics, and awareness-raising activities, specifically aimed at vulnerable communities, ensuring that the project’s impact translates into real improvements in patient care and the quality of life for people with diabetes.
FootForward incorporates specialized training on the use and potential of advanced technologies in the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetic foot, along with criteria for the design and selection of personalized solutions, such as appropriate footwear, oriented towards prevention.
Educational innovation for a sustainable impact on health.
FootForward will develop a digital training platform, aligned with the digital transformation and the European Green Deal, which will allow for the expansion of the training content’s reach, to facilitate access to knowledge, ensuring the sustainability of the results over time, even after the project’s completion.
Beyond technical training, FootForward aims to influence public health and education policies, promoting the integration of diabetic foot prevention into university curricula and national healthcare frameworks in Colombia and Peru. To achieve this, it will draw on the multidisciplinary expertise of the project partners and the network of stakeholders that the project is working to create with key actors from different sectors. This will enable a paradigm shift that moves from medical knowledge to effective application in Peru and Colombia.
Aspects such as gender equality, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability are integrated transversally across all project activities, reinforcing FootForward’s alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and the European Global Gateway strategy.
An international consortium for cooperation.
FootForward is driven by a multidisciplinary consortium of higher education institutions, research centers, and specialized entities from Europe and Latin America. The project is coordinated by the University of West Attica (Greece) and includes the participation of partners from Spain, Colombia, and Peru, such as INESCOP, Footwear Technological Center (Spain), the Pontifical Xavierian University (Colombia), University of the Coast Corporation (Colombia), Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Cayetano Heredia University, Miguel Hernández University of Elche (Spain), and the consultancy Creative Thinking Development (Greece).
An international alliance of entities with extensive experience in research, training, health, biomechanics, technology, and the design of solutions for diabetic foot, which guarantees a comprehensive vision of the problem and lays the foundation for lasting cooperation to continue advancing in prevention and the improvement of healthcare in vulnerable communities.
