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INFOLETTER 16April 2001
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
Governmental SupportIndonesia: On 24 April the BJD Secretariat received a report that His Excellency Mr Achmad Sujudi, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare has signed the Bone and Joint Decade Declaration of Support. For more information contact Dr Harry Isbagio, BJD Coordinator, e-mail: reumatik@indosat.net.id
The BJD has received endorsements from Governments in 32 countries.
Some of the National ActivitiesGermany: On 3-4 April 2001, more than fifty participants met in Frankfurt to develop the German NAN strategic plan. Convened by National Coordinator Prof. W. Puhl, participants included presidents and board members of the professional societies and representatives of the pharmaceutical and device industries. Fifteen societies responded in advance to a questionnaire and matrix about BJD goals and disease- specific activities. Two days of extensive meetings led to a comprehensive document that will be used for further implementation of the action plans in the target areas. This synergistic experience of working closely together between the different medical disciplines, patient organisations and industry on a common project was very stimulating and encouraging.
The meeting was co-sponsored by the participating organisations and industrial corporations with special thanks to Proctor & Gamble and Sulzer Orthopaedics for logistical and financial support. For more information please contact Karsten Dreinhöfer, e-mail: karsten.dreinhoefer@medizin.uni-ulm.
France: Reported on the process to meet with the new Minister of Health, Dr Bernhard Kouchner who has been the UN representative in Kosovo. For more information please contact Laurent Sedel, BJD Coordinator, e-mail: laurent.sedel@lrb.ap-hop-paris.fr.
Switzerland: At the International Osteoporosis Foundation's management meeting on March 19, Mary Anderson, former executive director of the IOF and member of the ISC as well, gave an update on some activities with the BJD. For further details contact Mary Anderson, manderson@osteofound.org.
UK: An event organised as part of the Bone & Joint Decade at the British Society for Rheumatology on 25 April 2001 at Edinburgh International Conference Centre will have the Scottish chief Medical Officer, Dr Mac Armstrong as a featured speaker.
Saudi Arabia: At a conference in February 4-6, 2001 Dr Mohammed H Mufti, National Coordinator for the BJD presented a lecture entitled, Osteoporosis: The Bone and Joint Decade in Saudi Arabia. A booklet prepared by Dr Mufti (English/Arabic) entitled The Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010: for Prevention and Treatment of Musculoskeletal Disorders was distributed along with a Questionnaire, "Osteoporosis in Saudi Arabia" in an effort to gather data and secure additional support in the endeavour.
Mexico: A new Surgeon General, Dr Julio Frenk Mora, a former member of WHO has been appointed. An official letter to Dr Julio Frenk Mora requesting endorsement of the BJD initiatives has been sent and the action is being coordinated by Dr. Eric Hazan, email: ehazanlasri@yahoo.com.
NAN meeting 2001The Annual Bone and Joint Decade Network Meeting 2001 will take place on October 20- 21 in New York City. The Bone and Joint Decade will convene. The Third International Meeting of the Network Corordinators for education and training. The two-day meeting will include information about international projects, stimulating activities of the National Action Networks, and networking with corporate partners.
The Standing Tall ProjectThe Awareness Foundation, The Arthritis Foundation and the Bone and Joint Decade Foundation have agreed to mutually work together on the project called "Standing Tall". There will be a live concert in the Lincoln Center with world-famous artists; a CD will be ready to the concert. This Standing Tall "Concert " will take place on October 22 after the ISC meeting. Please stay over Monday! More information will follow.
Action Week 12 - 20 October 2001During the week of October 12-20, NANs and Participating Organisations are encouraged to conduct events to raise the level of awareness, education and action for musculoskeletal disorders. The BJD Action Week has been installed as an annual period of concentrated global attention to the needs and issues of people affected by these disorders. By conducting a focused activity and using the Decade logo in conjunction with your event or publication, your organisation joins hundreds of similar organisations around the world in a united effort during a concentrated week of attention and action.
The Bone and Joint Decade will highlight activities conducted around the world during Action Week 2001 in a global media release. For your NAN to be included in this media release, please send your campaign materials to the BJD Lund, Sweden office not later than September 1, 2001.
Planning package for Participating Organisations and JournalsThe BJD Secretariat has sent out a planning package to our participating organisations and medical journals consisting of a cover letter from Prof. Lars Lidgren, Chairman of the BJD International Steering Committee, Planning Activities, Logo guidelines and a brief BJD description.
BJD Presence at International/National MeetingsPlease review the attached document How to highlight the BJD presence at major meetings.
Change of National CoordinatorsSwitzerland: Professor Jochen Löhr is moving to Lübeck in Germany. Professor Pierre Hoffmeyer, Head of the Dept of Orthopaedics in Geneva, e-mail: pierre.hoffmeyer@hcuge.chhas been appointed to be new Coordinator.
Kuwait: Dr. Ahmad Al-Rowaih has stepped down. A new National Coordinator has been appointed, Dr Jamil Quaddoumi, Al-Razi Orthopaedic Hospital, e-mail: JAQ@Yahoo.CA.
We welcome them both and thank the doctors Löhr and Al-Rowaih.
ISC meeting in Sweden March 31 - April 1Some decisions taken at the ISC meeting:
- A demonstration project in the Asian Pacific region starting in Asia with Prof. K M Chan, Hong Kong, Dr Wahid Al-Kharusi, Oman, and Prof. Hiroshi Yamamoto, Japan, who will form a Task Group and develop a 3-year calendar to achieve the BJD short-term goals, and actively involve more Asian countries.
- This week message from ISC: On the homepage there will be a short message on a professional topic from an ISC member every week, starting May 15.
- There was an approval by ISC members for development of Awards, to recognise those most efficient promoting awareness, exceptional efforts, and unique programs. The awards are to be given for the first time in New York. This was suggested by the NANs at the last network meeting.
- The Annual Action Network Meeting 2002 will take place during the fall in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in November.
Monitor ProjectIt was the decided that the Technical Report should be delivered in an extract format to the Health Minister by the coordinators, during the action week 2001 by a personal visit and a press release - more information will follow.
Medical Education and TrainingWe have now information on the status of musculoskeletal education in 21 countries based on returned questionnaires and the BJD, EFORT, EULAR Education Meeting held in Lisbon 23-26 March, 2001. Editorial is in progress.
GrantsA Grant Application for Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Centers for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases has been released on April 5, 2001 by NIH, US. For more information, e-mail: Julia_B_Freeman@nih.govor http://www.nih.gov/niams/grants/mcrc1999.htm
Coming eventsEULAR 2001 Annual European Congress of Rheumatology - 13 to 16 June 2001 - Prague: ISC members are giving lectures as well as Amye L Leong, spokesperson for the BJD. The title of her presentation is "Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010: Global Synergy, Partnership & Opportunities". The BJD flyer will be given to all participants.
ILAR 2001 Congress in Edmonton, Canada on August 26 - 31: A 2 hour BJD symposium and a 1 day pre-meeting on medical education with participants from orthopedics, rehabilitation, and rheumatology are planned. Please contact Anthony Woolf for more information, woolfa@dialin.net
EFORT 2001 June 3-7, Rhodes, Greece. A BJD consensus meeting on osteoporosis arranged by IOF and EFORT led by Prof. Olof Johnell is planned, e-mail: olof.johnell@orto.mas.lus.se.
SICOT 2001 August 30 - September 1 in Paris. The new SICOT Portal will be launched with Pharmacia and BJD as founding sponsors. IBM has developed the technical platform.
The BJD WebsiteOur redesigned homepage is continuously updated with new material. It now receives around 5.000 visits per month. Please send information on activities and events to the BJD Secretariat, bjd@ort.lu.seand we will put it on the web.
Society updatePlease fill in the enclosed society update form (in Microsoft Word format) and send it to the BJD Secretariat, bjd@ort.lu.se.
It is very important to provide us with an email contact address making it possible for the BJD Secretariat to communicate and keep you informed. If you have resigned as an officer or president and wish stay on our mailing list, just add the new official contact person.
The Bone and Joint Decade SecretariatIf you have any questions or need any assistance please feel free to contact our secretary in Lund, Agneta Jonsson, bjd@ort.lu.se.
Next InfoletterWill be sent out on June 21, for information to be included, please submit before June 8.
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