Vertical 3D Gold
|
Infoletter 14December 2000
Dear Bone and Joint Decade supporting organisation and friend,
On behalf of the BJD Steering Committee I am pleased to report to you of the latest achievements in regard to the initiative.
Lars Lidgren, Chairman of the Steering Committee
National Action Network Meeting in Oman November 27th - 28th 2000The Annual Bone and Joint Decade Network Meeting was opened on the 27th of November 2000 in the opulent surroundings of the Al Bustan Palace Hotel by His Excellency Ali Mohamed Moosa, The Minister of Health, Sultanate of Oman.
Dr Wahid Al-Kharusi, Oman National Action Network Co-ordinator and newly-appointed member of the International Steering Committee welcomed all the honored guests and delegates to the meeting and spoke of the efforts being made in The Sultanate, to promote an awareness of musculoskeletal disorders. He thanked His Excellency, The Minister of Health for his continuing support and guidance in organizing this important meeting.
The theme of the meeting was Synergy - how to work together. Impressive progress has been made in many countries since last year. Through discussion on synergy and strategy and by sharing of experience the participants gained new ideas for their continued work. The steering committee received valuable input on future actions.
During an evening of recognition, all active NANs received a charter from the Bone and Joint Decade, signed by Prof. Lars Lidgren, chairman of the BJD. A more detailed report of the meeting will come in our next newsletter.
New members of the International Steering Committee (ISC)Four new members were elected at an ISC meeting held in Muscat, Oman on 26 November, 2000:
- Dr Wahid Al-Kharusi, BJD National co-ordinator for The Sultanate of Oman
- Dr Marcos Musafir, BJD National co-ordinator for Brazil
- Edward D Harris Jr, Professor of Medicine, Stanford University, California
- Professor Liana Euller-Ziegler, Nice, France
We would like to thank Professor Dieter Grob, who has been a member of the ISC since 1998.
New National Action NetworkSouth Africa is now officially a NAN, which means that we have 44 NANs. For more information contact the BJD co-ordinator in South Africa; Professor Girish Mody, modyg@med.und.ac.za.
Governmental SupportHis Excellency Ali Mohamed Moosa, Minister of Health, Sultanate of Oman, endorsed the policies and objectives of the Bone and Joint Decade on 26 November, 2000.
New Zealand: On 5 December the official launch in New Zealand of the BJD was held at Parliament at a function hosted by the Minister of Health, Annette Kling and included an official endorsement of the BJD.
As well as the Ministerial speech the BJD Patron, Sir Paul Reeves, an ex-Governor-general, also spoke. The BJD co-ordinator Geoffrey Lamb provided the continuity and described the reasons for and objectives of the Decade.
Geoffrey Lamb is anticipating a full meeting of the Network early in the New Year at which the participants will be asked to come armed with specific programmes for the next year and a vision for the decade. For more information contact Geoffrey Lamb, geoff.lamb@clear.net.nz.
This means that the BJD has received endorsements from Governments in 29 countries.
Activity WeekThe Bone and Joint Decade declared October 12-20, 2000 its first annual "Action Week" to highlight worldwide collaboration among organizations to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal disorders and to call for increased research and education for prevention and treatment. Some of the activities included:
World Arthritis Day (October 12)
- ARI & ILAR: Declaration by Arthritis and Rheumatism International (ARI) and the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) to "Think Global - Act local"
- Korea: The Korean Rheumatism Association conducted an open public campaign through new channels, including working with Moonhwa Broadcasting Company (MBC), one of the most prestigious broadcasting companies in Korea.
- China: Activities in four major regions: Conducted a media briefing, free diagnosis and consultation, a variety of radio and TV programs (Shanghai), major media briefing attended by more than 50 key national media (Beijing): several media roundtable briefings, and free diagnosis and consultations (Guangzhou and Chengdu)
World Spine Day (October 16)
- Hungary: (1) Conducted "Back to Back Day" which included a conference titled "Health Care, Health Economy & Prevention of Low Back Pain" under the patronage of the Secretary of State of Finance and the Secretary of State of the national Health Insurance; (2) The Hungarian Parliament and Government agreed that more physical education teaching hours should be included in the curricula of all primary and secondary schools; (3) October 13th of the annual congress of the Hungarian Pain Society was dedicated to the diagnosis, differential diagnosis, conservative and operative treatment of back pain; (4) The opening lecture of the Millennial Congress of the Hungarian Rehabilitation Society was delivered by the national coordinator, Géza Bálint, balintg@mail.datanet.hu.
- Italy: Conducted a medical conference titled "Spine Day - Back in Motion" and issued a specific communiqué.
- European Union: The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work "Back to Future" Week conducted workplace education in 15 EU member states.
World Trauma Day (October 17):
- USA: "Moments of silence" were observed in patient units at the University of Connecticut to honor those killed from trauma-related musculoskeletal injuries.
- The Vatican: The church bells in the Vatican rang on World Trauma Day to honor those killed. In addition, to raise awareness that every 30 seconds someone dies on the world's roads, The Bishop of Brescia in Lombardia, Italy, Giulio Sanguineti let The Sanctuary Madonna della Stella ring every 30 seconds for twenty-four hours to honor those killed.
World Osteoporosis Day (October 20)
- "Invest in your bones," the theme of educational activities of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (www.osteofound.org), which included a One Minute Osteoporosis Risk Test, the theme song "Bone of My Own," international journalism awards, and remarks by IOF patron Queen Rania of Jordan.
Some of the National Actions, please refer to our homepage www.boneandjointdecade.org for more information on other countries.
Bulgaria: On the 10th of November, the 3rd National Conference on Osteoporosis organized by the Bulgarian Osteoporosis Association took place. The Conference was held in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, and was attended by more than 100 BJD-interested specialists, scientists and health service providers. For more information contact the BJD co-ordinator in Bulgaria: Panayot Tanchev, MD, ptanchev@techno-link.com.
Australia: A National Network has been established with the following organizations:
- Australian Orthopaedic Association
- Australian Rheumatology Association
- Arthritis Foundation of Australia
- Osteoporosis Australia
- Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society
For more information contact the National coordinator, Peter Brooks, p.brooks@mailbox.uq.edu.au.
Argentina: The NAN for the Argentine Bone and Joint Decade was officially launched on the 11th of October 2000 in Buenos Aires with the support of the Argentine government. The Ceremony took place at the Argentine Academy of Medicine. More than 200 professionals interested in bone and joint disorders belonging to related scientific organizations attended the event and signed the chart to become sponsor members.
The NAN is supported by the most important Argentine Medical Societies that have already signed the Declaration proposing that the years 2000-2010 be designated the decade committed to improving quality of life for people with bone and joint diseases and injuries throughout the world. Dr D Luis Muscolo is the President of the Argentine Network, sothiba.@hitalba.edu.ar.
Romania: The IVth National Congress of Phys.Med & Rehabilitation with International Participation was held in Romania 18-21 October 2000 under the Bone and Joint Decade.
Romania was one of the first countries on a governmental level to endorse the Decade. They had a successful meeting with 6 speakers from Europe and over 550 participants.
National Osteoporosis Foundation South Africa: They reported having run a joint congress with the South-African Society for Clinical Densitometry as well as the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, on Osteoporosis and a Certification course for Densitometer.
Home PageThe BJD website is near its completion. In order to facilitate the linking of the page to every NAN, they have been asked to complete a form for accepting certain ethical rules. This will make it possible for each NAN and its members to be able to access and use their own homepage.
The Bone and Joint Decade SecretariatPlease contact our secretary in Lund, Agneta Jonsson, bjd@ort.lu.se, if you have any questions or need assistance.
We wish you all
A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
|
|