Sustained Advocacy for equal priority – Musculoskeletal conditions (MSCs) such as low back pain, arthritis and other diseases of the joints affect millions of people around the world and are one of the leading causes of disability (WHO 2011). Yet these conditions are not given the same public health priority as other noncommunicable diseases (NCD’s). The BJD has commissioned an initiative to deliver a sustained advocacy programme across the world.
The work relates closely to the WHO Strategic Objective to improve health services through better governance, financing, staffing and management, informed by reliable and accessible evidence and research (WHO Strategic Objective 10).
The initiative to deliver a sustained advocacy programme is supported by the development of an advocacy toolkit to ensure an orchestrated and sustained campaign with consistent messages which will establish MSC’s as a high priority public health issue.