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INFOLETTER 21February 2002
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
We have a new BJD year in front of us, hopefully with a lot of interesting events.
In our first newsletter 2002 we are happy to tell you that we have at the moment 50 National Action Networks and 38 Governments supporting the BJD initiative.
A National Action Network (NAN) has been formed in Israel consisting of:
- Israel Medical Association
- The Israeli Society of Rheumatology
- Israel Orthopaedic Association.
For more information please contact the National Action Coordinator, Prof. Michael Soudry, MD, e-mail: michael.soudry@clalit.org.il
The Israel Government represented by the Minister of Health, Mr Nissim Dahan, has signed its support for the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010. Mr Dahan signed the Declaration while participating in the Israel Orthopaedic Association 21st Annual Meeting, which was held on December 4-5, 2001 in Tel-Aviv, Israel.
The BJD Secretariat is very pleased to receive all reports on activities from our National Action Coordinators and our Participating Organisations. Please find below our latest news.
The BJD Annual National Action Network meeting 2002The Network meeting will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Hotel InterContinental. The tentative program is:
NAN Coordinators' meeting - Thursday, September 12 and Friday, September 13.
Symposium with instructional lectures - Saturday, September 14.
The Scientific program will be in English and Portuguese, (simultaneous translation). An audience of 1000-2000 South American health professionals is anticipated.
Each NAN will be contacted directly with an invitation to the meeting in Rio. Each NAN will be invited to send two persons, coordinator and patient representative to the Rio Meeting. They may attend the Symposium on Saturday. Additional NAN representatives and guests are invited at their own expense.
United Nation Meeting, 2003The BJD International Steering Committee has now received approval from Secretary General Kofi Annan to hold an international meeting at the UN entitled "The Global Road Safety Crisis" scheduled for the Fall, 2003. The meeting will be designed to bring together all stakeholders to develop a coordinated action plan to combat global road traffic injuries. For more information please contact, Prof. Bruce Browner, member of the BJD International Steering Committee, e-mail: browner@nso.uchc.edu
Musculoskeletal eCooperative Portal ProjectThe project is a joint sponsorship of the BJD with Pharmacia. All Scandinavian orthopedic surgeons, rheumatologists in Sweden, orthopedics in Holland, UK (rheumatology and orthopedic societies), Austria (orthopaedics), SICOT and EFORT are participating.
The first leadership meeting of the Musculoskeletal eCooperative (MSEC) will take place on 25-27 March, 2002 in Geneva, Switzerland. The intention of this meeting is to move the project forward with focus on content and communication.
For more information please contact: Prof. Lars Lidgren, e-mail: lars.lidgren@ort.lu.se
The Monitor ProjectThe Technical Report has been accepted and was presented to Dr Nikolai Khaltaev at WHO, Geneva, on January 18, 2002 by Prof. Anthony D Woolf, UK, and Dr Kristina Åkesson, Sweden, both members of the International Steering Committee. The report is expected to be published towards the end of 2002.
World Health Day 2002, "Move for Health", 7 April 2002Through the World Health Day (WHD) process, WHO is seeking to stimulate a global health debate on the epidemiological shift in the global burden of disease and the factors that are fuelling this process of change. In most parts of the world, non-communicable diseases have become a major epidemic. This is due, in part, to a rapid transition in lifestyles leading to reduced physical activity, changing diets and increased tobacco use. This trend is present in all societies, rich and poor, developed and developing.
A major cause of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and musculoskeletal diseases is lack of physical activity. WHO estimates that lack of activity leads to more than 2 million deaths per year.
To draw the attention of policy makers, the public health community and civil society to these issues, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director- General of the World Health Organization, has announced that WHD 2002 will emphasize the importance of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. The need for, and the beneficial effects of, physical activity will be the theme of WHD activities worldwide.
WHD will involve multiple settings--from schools to worksites, stadia to urban neighbourhoods. The international sports fraternity, represented by the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is already linked with WHO's efforts.
The main venue for WHD 2002 will be São Paulo, Brazil, highlighting the successful model of AGITA SAO PAULO. Under this umbrella, numerous organizations have already been able to mobilize great numbers of both young and old "moving for their health". This model has also inspired the slogan for WHD 2002: "AGITA MUNDO - Move for Health". Cities, towns and municipalities are encouraged to join in this WHD movement towards healthy living by organizing their own events.
The NMH cluster, under the direction of Executive Director Dr Derek Yach, together with Dr Pekka Puska, Director, NCD Prevention and Health Promotion, and Mrs Chitra Subramaniam-Duella, Coordinator, Policy Analysis and Communications, will lead this global effort with WHO-wide contributions. The Coordinator of WHD 2002 is Mrs Elena Subirats. She is the focal point for all contacts with the regions and external partners. For further information contact WHD@who.int.
New member of the International Steering CommitteeProfessor Kai-Ming Chan, Hong Kong, has been elected to new member of the International Steering Committee and we welcome him.
National Action Networks
Activities:
Belgium: The Belgian Chapter of the Bone & Joint Decade will be endorsed by the Government on Saturday, June 1, 2002 during the 2002 Orthopaedica Belgica Congress, which will be held at the Oud St Jan Art and Congress Center in Bruges, Belgium (www.belgianorthoweb.be).
This event will take place with a press conference and lunch.
Mr. Frank Vandenbroucke, Minister for Social Affairs and Pensions, as well as national and international press agencies will attend the meeting.
The endorsement session will be preceded by a symposium entitled "The impact of road traffic trauma on society"
After the symposium, the endorsement session will start.
All the participating societies of the Belgian Chapter of the Bone and Joint Decade, potentially with patient groups, will attend the Endorsement of the Bone and Joint Decade.
Each scientific society will give a 3 to 5 minutes' presentation of their basic activities in regard to the Bone & Joint Decade.
Minister Vandenbroucke will officially sign the charter, together with the representative of the specialty societies. For more information please contact Prof. René Verdonk, NAN coordinator, e-mail: rene.verdonk@rug.ac.be
Estonia: Estonian Society for Rheumatology organized a conference "Current Treatment and Socio-Economic Problems of Rheumatic Diseases" in Tallinn on November 30, 2001. Among 169 participants were rheumatologists, family doctors, general doctors, internists, representatives of Estonian Sickness
Fund and drug companies. The conference was dedicated to the Bone and Joint Decade and served as a first attempt to raise the awareness of broad scale of Estonian doctors and the government of Estonia of the most actual problems of musculoskeletal diseases. The main topics of presentations included current prevention and treatment methods of rheumatic diseases, related socio-economic and financial problems and tasks and purposes of BJD.
Estonian Society for Rheumatology is going to propose Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs to support the BJD. For more information contact the BJD coordinator in Estonia, Dr Chris Pruunsild, e-mail: chris.pruunsild@mail.ee
France: Prof. Liana Euller-Ziegler, ISC member and one of the two NAN coordinators in France, had a meeting with Bernard Kouchner, French Health Minister, on Nov.30, 2001. It was a very positive meeting. The Executive Summary of the WHO/BJD Technical report was very well received. The French BJD Network was highlighted during the meeting, with notably a presentation of the main goals of each member organisation. The French NAN has also widely distributed the French BJD flyer. For more info please visit www.boneandjointdecade.org /France or contact Prof. Liana-Euller Ziegler, NAN coordinator, e-mail: lziegler@unice.fror Prof. Laurent Sedel, NAN coordinator, e-mail: laurent.sedel@lrb.ap-hop-paris.fr
Hungary: The Hungarian Bone and Joint Decade Foundation along with the Chair of Informatics and Telecommunication of the Technical University, Budapest, and the Health Sciences Faculty of the Semmelweis University, Budapest were awarded a grant of 42 million HUF (ca. 130.000 EURO) for a project titled "Analysis of normal and pathological human movements with 3D method". The project includes teleconsultations between general practitioners and specialists consulting low back pain patients, and also telecommunicative physiotherapy by 3D method. For more info please contact Prof. Géza Bálint; NAN coordinator, e-mail: balintg@mail.datanet.hu
India: The BJD Secretariat has received an impressive report from the Action Week, 2001 from India and a photograph album as well. For more info, please visit www.boneandjointdecade.org/India or contact Prof. Dinesh Mohan, NAN coordinator, e-mail: dmohan@cbme.iitd.ernet.in
Oman: Dr Wahid Al-Kharusi, NAN Coordinator and member of the BJD International Steering Committee reported a discussion is going on with the Sultan Qaboos University College of Medicine for integration of BJD principles in undergraduate training. Development of an EMS service for Oman is planned, a Trauma Registry has been set up to accumulate and analyse data of all Trauma cases in the country. Logistics of opening a NAN office is being negotiated with the Ministry of Health. Oman is trying to develop networking of the different regions in the country. For more info e-mail: wahid@gto.net.omor fax: +968 560 937
Slovak Republic: January 2002 was very active for the BJD in Slovakia. On January 24-25 2002 a conference of the Slovak Orthop. and Traumatology Society took place under the logo of the BJD with the presence of the Minister of Health and Dean of Med. Faculty and the President of EFORT. In February a rheumatologic orthopaedic conference dedicated to osteoporosis is scheduled. For more info contact Prof. Frantisek Makai, NAN coordinator, e-mail: ortopkl@internet.sk
The Philippines: Dr Venancio P. Garduce, Jr. has become new NAN coordinator as from January 2002, being elected to new President of the Philippine Orthopaedic Association. We extend our thanks to Dr Lauro M Abrahan Jr. the former coordinator.
USA: The BJD Secretariat has received an extensive update report from the US National Action Network.
Four task forces have been identified and team leaders assigned to:
- Education (AAOS, NATA)
- Advocacy (AF, APTA)
- Research (ACR)
- Communication (NATA, AAOS)
Communications: The US Communications Task Force has published two editions of the USNAN Newsletter. These can be viewed at www.boneandjointdecade.org/us. The Task Force has also launched an image that will be used for a variety of Bone and Joint activities in the United States - Mr. StrongBones and Joint, The Bone Wonder. This also can be viewed on the Web site.
Research: The Steering Committee has proposed that the AAOS's book Musculoskeletal Conditions in the United States could be used as a cornerstone resource for the Bone and Joint Decade.
A US network staff member Mr Toby King, has joined the BJD US and can be reached on email: tobyking20@aol.com.
Website: The USNAN section of the Bone and Joint Decade Web site is being regularly reviewed and updated. For more information please contact Prof. Stuart L Weinstein, MD, NAN coordinator of the US NAN, e-mail: stuart-weinstein@uiowa.edu
eMotion Pictures: An exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art has won ongoing media coverage that not only raises awareness of the impact of musculoskeletal conditions, it also specifically includes information on the Bone and Joint Decade.
eMotion Pictures UN exhibit: An Exhibition of Art opened at the United Nations on January 22, 2002 and will appear in the General Assembly Visitors Lobby through February 26, 2002. This exhibition of work by artists with orthopaedic conditions, and orthopaedic surgeons, illustrates the impact of these conditions through the perspectives of physician and patient. The exhibition was created by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and hosted by the United Nations Department of Public Information, in collaboration with the UN Programme on Ageing and the NGO, International Council for Caring Communities.
A gala opening reception, was held at the United Nations on January 22 in celebration of the Bone and Joint Decade. Attending were representatives from the United Nations and host collaborators, ambassadors, physicians, artists, media and industry sponsors. The program featured remarks by Mrs. Nane Annan; Shashi Tharoor, Interim Head of the UN Department of Public Information; Alexandre Sidorenko, Chief of the UN Programme on Ageing; and Prof. Bruce D. Browner, representing the Bone and Joint Decade International Steering Committee.
Coming exhibit in Madrid: A small (24-piece) exhibition of eMotion Pictures will take place at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid, from April 5-15, 2002. The UN´s Programme on Ageing and the International Council for Caring Communities, and the NGO, are also involved in planning the Madrid meeting and offered to act as hosts to facilitate the opportunity to exhibit the eMotion Pictures artwork at the conference center in Madrid. They expect 7,000-10,000 UN delegates and related agencies at this meeting from April 5-12 which will be held at the Placio Municipal de Congresos, or the Municipal Congess Halls, in the urban development "Campo de las Naciones" (a big convention center located just outside of Madrid).
There is a good chance the show will move to Paris and other locations in 2003. For more info, please contact Lynne Dowling, Director, International Programs, AAOS, e-mail: dowling@aaos.org
Media and Public Outreach
The BJD Information kit, a new brochure, will be sent out to the NAN participants shortly.
A guide on how to use the kit will be attached. The BJD Information kit is designed to secure corporate, government, and public relations support.
Coming events with BJD lectures
- IOF World Congress on Osteoporosis, Lisbon, Portugal, May 10-14, 2002 www.iof.org
- EULAR 2002, Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Stockholm, Sweden, 12-15 June, 2002 www.eular.org
- American Juvenile Arthritis National Conference - Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, July 25-28, 2002 www.arthritis.org
The American Juvenile Arthritis Organization (AJAO) has designated the 2002 AJAO National Conference as a meeting opportunity to increase awareness of families of children and young adults with arthritis about the Bone and Joint Decade.
AJAO extends an invitation to all families of children, teens and young adults challenged by arthritis or related diseases to attend the 2002 Conference. For more information contact Ann Kunkel, Arthritis Foundation Volunteer BJD Representative, e-mail: akunkel@kumc.edu
Society Contact updateAll contact addresses (especially e-mail addresses) are important to make it possible for us to communicate and keep you updated about important BJD information. Please find attached a society update form to be filled in and sent to bjd@ort.lu.se.
The BJD websitePlease send information and photos (fine quality) on activities and events to the BJD Secretariat, bjd@ort.lu.seand we will put it on the web.
The BJD flyerThe BJD flyer can now be found in German, French and shortly Portuguese as well.
The Bone and Joint Decade SecretariatIf you have any questions or need any assistance please feel free to contact our secretary in Lund, Agneta Jönsson, bjd@ort.lu.se
Next InfoletterWill be sent out on April 26, for information to be included, please submit before April 12.
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