World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) 2008 - Speak out for your bones!

Cape Town, South Africa: The National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa (NOFSA) together with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) will be launching a worldwide, two-year campaign on World Osteoporosis Day (WOD), 20 October 2008, to initiate the change needed in Osteoporosis healthcare policies by marshalling millions of people to speak up and speak out in order to help improve osteoporosis procedures in government and private health care systems.
This view extends into health insurance schemes, both private and public, as many do not cover the diagnosis and treatment prior to the first fracture. In fact, many medical aid schemes would rather pay out for costly hip replacement operations rather than provide for preventative measures and screening programmes.

According to Tereza Hough, CEO of NOFSA, “The first fracture a patient suffers, is soon followed by more. It is therefore vital that healthcare policies promote the detection of osteoporosis before the first fracture occurs.”

“Identifying and treating patients at risk of fracture, before it happens, will substantially decrease the long term yoke of developing the life sentence of Osteoporosis. Reducing the risk of first fracture from 8% to 2% can reduce the 5-year fracture incidence from approximately 34% to 10%,” added Hough

Changing the perception

Osteoporosis, often known as the “silent epidemic”, is a systemic disease causing bones to become porous and more susceptible to fractures, especially in areas like the spine, hip and wrist. Hough stresses, “Osteoporosis is not an illness just for old ladies, as we now know conclusively that Osteoporosis can also affect young individuals and both genders.” The current global statistic is that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men have a chance of developing this disease. This translates into a potential 4 - 6 million South Africans who are at risk of developing the disease and placing a financial and emotional burden on medical resources and the families and carers who become responsible for these patients.

NOFSA would like to see government health officials recognise Osteoporosis as a health priority allowing more to be done to promote early detection. Furthermore, NOFSA believe that health insurers should offer compensation for the necessary therapy for those who suffer from Osteoporosis - Osteoporosis is currently not recognised as a chronic illness and therefore no benefits exist.

Wanting the general public to take responsibility for their bone health, NOFSA need support from all sectors for their work and advocacy efforts of their national Osteoporosis societies.

“We hope that through this campaign, greater awareness around the prevention of Osteoporosis is created. This will help us advocate and create the change within the health sector to ensure that focus is placed on averting this crippling condition,” impressed Hough.

If you would like to “speak out for your bones” then register your name on the NOFSA petition which can be found on www.osteoporosis.org.za