The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) have signed an agreement to develop a strategic roadmap on bone health and ageing and advocate for a public health strategy to prevent fractures among older people.

The five-year agreement was signed at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland by Dr Anshu Banerjee, WHO Assistant Director-General ad interim, Universal Health Coverage/Life Course and Dr Jean-Yves Reginster, President of ESCEO.

The agreement includes the development of a public health strategy and action plan to prevent fractures among older people as well as to improve the coverage of health services for fractures which are critical for achieving the triple billion targets of WHO’s Thirteen General Programme of Work (GPW13).   

As part of the agreement, WHO and ESCEO will collaborate to develop global estimates on fracture and osteoporosis; review evidence-based interventions to prevent fractures; create an economic model for an investment case in fracture prevention and care; provide guidance to countries on strengthening national health information systems by integrating osteoporosis and fractures in routine data monitoring; and provide guidance to countries on using data to design evidence-informed policies and programmes to reduce the risk of fractures in older people.

WHO will establish a Bone Health Expert Working Group to advance the five-year workplan with support from the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the WHO Collaborating Center for Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Health and Ageing at the University of Liège, Belgium, which was previously designated by WHO as a technical partner for osteoporosis and musculoskeletal ageing.