Corporate Support for World Osteoporosis Day
IOF is pleased that many of its corporate members are increasingly involved in World Osteoporosis Day, either by holding awareness activities for their employees and/or by supporting local initiatives by national patient and medical societies.
In 2006 IOF was able to count for the first time on the support of four Global Gold Sponsors for World Osteoporosis Day. IOF thanks these sponsors - Tetra Pak, Fonterra Brands, MSD and Novartis for their active commitment to World Osteoporosis Day and its theme of good nutrition for healthy bones.
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| Mr Pradeep Pant, regional managing director, Fonterra Brands, presented Mr Daniel Navid, IOF CEO, with a cheque of HD$ 225,000 to be allocated to participating IOF member societies in the Asian region. |
Below are brief descriptions of WOD events carried out by corporations, including the Global Gold Sponsors and other corporate members of IOF’s Committee of Corporate Advisors:
Fonterra Brands, Asia
Fonterra Brands, Asia, presented IOF with a cheque for more than HD$ 225,000. These funds were raised during various events across Asia including a dance-a-thon with 20,000 participants in the Philippines; an interactive yoga session and line dance-a-thon in Singapore; and, in Vietnam, a walk-a-thon with over 10,000 people. Similar events took place in Guangzhou and Shanghai, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The funds will be allocated to IOF members societies of the countries which participated.
TETRA PAK, Pakistan
Tetra Pak has reprinted the IOF nutrition report in English and in Urdu, in association with the Osteoporosis Society of Pakistan. The report was launched in Karachi on the occasion of World Osteoporosis Day on 20th October 2006 during an Iftar-dinner. In this ceremony the IOF report was formally presented to IOF representatives in the presence of the media. The Urdu translation of the report will also be available after Eid.
TETRA PAK, Germany
Tetra Pak is supporting the WOD campaign in Germany on behalf of the Kuratorium Knochengesundheit. Far-reaching media activities using TV, radio and print, educated people about how to help prevent osteoporosis by leading an active lifestyle and sticking to a healthy diet, including dairy products. This message was reinforced using a combination of interesting data, facts on osteoporosis and handy hints.
Novartis, International
Novartis organized awareness activities for its employees at its Basel, Switzerland headquarters as well as in some 16 countries around the world. In Basel, posters were displayed on site from October 9th. Following an email to employees on October 12th, there was a daily poll on the Novartis Intranet, newsletter and post-it notes were distributed and articles appeared on both the intranet and in the employee magazine. On Monday, October 23, 2006, NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid was invited to speak about her missions in space and how astronauts in a weightless environment experience bone loss similar to that observed in osteoporosis. In keeping with the ‘Bone Appétit’ theme, special bone friendly menus were available in the canteen.
GSK, international
GSK undertook WOD activities at their headquarters and local offices. These included a combination of some or all of the following: posters at all sites, distribution of leaflets on nutrition and osteoporosis, bone friendly recipes in the canteens, slides on the internal plasma screens raising awareness of the day, key facts article on the intranet and internal magazine and pilates band ‘give aways’ to promote the importance of exercise.
Roche, Philippines
Roche, in partnership with the Philippine Society for Endocrinology and Metabolism (PSEM) conducted bone tests at key locations in Manila. Roche kicked off its celebration of WOD on Oct. 11 with a lunch forum for its office-based employees and hosted a symposium on Oct. 13 . Roche is organizing a patient support program and has ongoing activities for bone health and wellness in partnership with other non-governmental organizations in the field.
Lilly, USA
To mark World Osteoporosis Day, Lilly set up a BMD booth on the Faris Campus in Indianapolis on October 10, 2006. The booth, which included a GE-Lunar Peripheral Instantaneous X-Ray Imager, was operated by professionals from the Indiana University Osteoporosis Care Center, including consultation nurses and technicians. Employees were invited to have their bone density measured, and then received a report that gave their value in range for age and gender. They also received IOF education pamphlets and a ticket for a free carton of milk. Bone Appétit - Osteoporosis Day at Lilly event was also a day of nominations and recognition for the US/Global Osteoporosis Team whereby individuals were encouraged to recognize a peer, team or manager for their work. Marcel Lechanteur, Chair of IOF's CCA, and Executive Director of Lilly's U.S. Osteoporosis Business Unit, was there to close the event by giving an update on the IOF's Vision, Missions, and Goals. The event was a huge success and was well received with more than 100 women having their bone density measured throughout the day.
