Alliance LinksThe International Osteoporosis Foundation Biography
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), registered as a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Switzerland, functions as a global alliance of several organisations and individuals who are concerned about bone health, including:
- Patient, medical and research societies,
- Scientists,
- Health care professionals, and
- International companies.
It is the largest global NGO dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis.
The IOF aims to:
- Increase awareness and understanding of osteoporosis;
- Motivate people to take action to prevent, diagnose and treat osteoporosis; and
- Support national osteoporosis societies in order to maximise their effectiveness.
On World Osteoporosis Day 2008, the IOF launched a new campaign, ‘Stand Tall – Speak Out for Your Bones’. This campaign calls on government health officials across all regions to recognise osteoporosis as a health priority. In addition, it seeks to 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. Finally, it calls on individuals to take responsibility for their bone health and to support the work and advocacy efforts of their national osteoporosis societies.
World Osteoporosis Day 2009 (October 20) will be the second year of the ‘Stand Tall’ campaign, which seeks to mobilize the power of millions of voters, tax-payers and concerned citizens to improve osteoporosis healthcare policies in government healthcare systems, private insurance companies, and corporate healthcare networks.
Towards that end, 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), a new tool which allows for a better allocation of healthcare resources.