Bone and Joint Decade
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* James P. Waddell

On Nov. 30, 1999, Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan declared 2000 to 2010 the Bone and Joint Decade. How this came about and its significance for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders is a remarkable story.

Professor Lars Lidgren of Lund, Sweden, saw the beneficial effect of a dedicated research effort on neurologic diseases brought about by the Decade of the Brain. After much preliminary work he brought together, in the spring of 1998, leaders of a wide variety of organizations dedicated to research into, and the prevention and treatment of, musculoskeletal conditions. This group included representatives from the fields of rheumatology, orthopedic surgery and traumatology, dedicated orthopedic research organizations and patient advocacy groups. A consensus document generated at that meeting was widely circulated and enthusiastically endorsed by other medical and patient advocacy groups.

Delegates from the meeting in Lund then began a process of educating and encouraging governments in their own countries as well as umbrella medical organizations to endorse the idea of a Bone and Joint Decade. Embarrassingly, neither the Canadian Medical Association nor the Federal Government saw fit to endorse this effort. But governments elsewhere took a more enlightened approach, and by November 1999, 16 governments and over 400 specialty and national organizations had endorsed this concept.

A second meeting of professional organizations and patient advocacy groups was held on Nov. 19 and 20, 1999, to plan the launch of the decade.

The official launch was held in Geneva on Jan. 13, 2000, and many countries have now established national action networks to implement the decade. Canada has also established such a network, and planning has begun to develop a national action plan. It is hoped that there will be an offical launch by the Canadian national action network this summer.

The goals of the decade are simple: to address the problems of osteoporosis, trauma, spinal disorders, arthritis and childhood musculoskeletal diseases by programs of research, prevention and treatment. The goal is to triple the amount of research funding available for musculoskeletal diseases by the end of the decade; by increasing public awareness it is hoped to reduce the incidence of disability caused by illness or injury of the musculoskeletal system.

The national action network in Canada is supported by all professional and patient advocacy groups associated with musculoskeletal conditions and this coalition of interests will have a profound effect on musculoskeletal conditions over the next decade and beyond.