Oct 08 2009
Stand Tall - Help Promote World Osteoporosis Day
World Osteoporosis Day 2009 falls on October 20. This will be the second year of a ‘call to action’ campaign. The theme of the World Osteoporosis Day 2009 is ‘Stand Tall’. The “Stand Tall” campaign seeks to mobilize the power of millions of voters, tax-payers and concerned citizens to improve osteoporosis healthcare policies amongst public and private healthcare and insurance decision-makers.
The focus of the World Osteoporosis Day 2009 thematic report will be on FRAX® (WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool - Identifying people at high risk of fracture). The assessment tool is a new tool which enables improvement in allocation of resources for public health.
The International Osteoporosis Foundation looks forward to presenting a brief overview of the foundation and its member societies and their activities as October 20th approaches.
World Osteoporosis Day 2009 is the second year of a two year campaign which called on government health officials across all regions to recognize osteoporosis as a health priority; spread the message that more needs to be done by national governments and health insurers to promote early detection and offer reimbursement of much needed therapy for those with osteoporosis; and to call on individuals to take responsibility for their bone health and to support the work and advocacy efforts of their national osteoporosis societies.
Despite significant advances in science and medicine, the reality today is that:
Between twelve to twenty percent of people die within one year following a hip fracture.
It is estimated that 80% of those who are at high risk of osteoporosis, and have suffered at least one fracture, have neither been identified nor treated for the disease.
Many national governments do not treat osteoporosis as a major health priority and fail to provide adequate resources for its detection and treatment.
Many health insurance schemes still do not cover diagnosis and treatment prior to the first fracture – even when it is cost effective to do so.
Look out for National Osteoporosis Day Activities in your locality, learn more about it and help to save lives and minimize suffering.
Image credit: International Osteoporosis Foundation
