Delhi: A BJD – ISBMR (Indian Society for Bone and Mineral Research) public awareness program on Osteoporosis held at India Habitat Center, New Delhi on 19 Oct 2002 was attended by 140 people from different sections of society. The Chief Guest for this Program Dr. Nazma Heptullah (Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha, and Chairperson of Indian Council for Cultural Relations) delivered a practical talk on ‘Osteoporosis & backache’. Dr. Shyama Chona, an educationist and principal of a leading Delhi School, gave a lucid talk on ‘Care of spine & joints’. Ms. R Jethmalani, a leading woman activist and an eminent Supreme Court advocate in India also appealed to public to take note of the advances that medicine has made in numerous areas, including osteoporosis and take full benefit from BJD like organizations. Dr. Shyama Chona and Ms. R. Jethmalani were the Guest of Honour for this program. An introduction to WHO Bone and Joint Decade was given by Prof. T K Shanmugasundaram, Emeritus Professor and Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon (Chairman, BJD-INDIA: NAN). An interactive session on ‘Building Healthy Bones’ was conducted by Dr. Ambrish Mithal, Senior Consultant Endocrinologist and a member of BJD Executive Committee.

This program was a part of the ISBMR-WHO-BJD osteoporosis week, which involved education programs for doctors at 5 metropolis cities across India (17 Oct. 2002 – Chennai, 18 Oct. 2002 – Bangalore, 19 Oct. 2002 - Delhi- Public program, 20 Oct. 2002 – Delhi, 21 Oct. 2002 – Hyderabad and 23 Oct 2002 – Mumbai).
A CME on Osteoporosis, Rheumatology and Orthopedics was conducted in Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi on 20 Oct 2002 to celebrate the World Osteoporosis Day. More than 40 doctors from different disciplines including family practice attended the meet. All the 3 sessions - Osteoporosis, Rheumatology and Orthopedics contained talks by reputed and renowned personalities. The Osteoporosis session consisted of talks by Prof. D. S. Rao, Head of Bone and Mineral Division – Henry Ford hospital Detroit USA on ‘Use of Bone Densitometry in clinical practice’, Prof. Sunil Wimalawansa, Head Dept. of Endocrinology-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey, USA on ‘Therapeutic strategies in osteoporosis: Calcium, Vitamin D, Calcitonin and Biphophonates’, Dr. Ambrish Mithal a Senior Consultant Endocrinologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi and an Executive Committee member of BJD-INDIA: NAN on ‘Therapeutic strategies in osteoporosis: SERMS, HRT and choice of therapy’. A lively panel discussion on ‘Current status of HRT use for Osteoprotection’ was moderated by Dr. Urvashi Jha, President, Indian Menopause Society. The Rheumatology session contained much appreciated talks on ‘Current management of Rheumatoid arthritis’ by Dr. Rohini Handa, Additional Professor, Dept of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, ‘What’s new in Osteoarthritis?’ by Dr. S J Gupta, Senior Consultant, Rheumatology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi and ‘Steroid induced Osteoporosis’ by Dr. Arvind Chopra, Consultant Rheumatologist and the Secretary for WHO-BJD in India. Dr. Mathew Verghese, Senior Orthopedic Surgeon and Director, St. Stephen’s Hospital, Delhi addressed the Doctors during the Orthopedics session.
The Delhi program was organized and managed successfully by Dr. Ambrish Mithal and his very efficient team.

Jalna: World Arthritis Day was celebrated at Jalna on 12 Oct 02 at Hotel Amber. This meeting was attended by 80 doctors. Dr. Satish Goyal, Orthopaedic Surgeon, delivered detail information about BJD, its aims and objects and the present scenario in India and appealed to all to be an active member of the organization. He also delivered a lecture on ‘Osteoarthritis of knee, the causes, stages, remedy and its prevention’.
Souvenir containing detail information on ‘Backache’ in Marathi and English with pictorial charts of spinal exercises was distributed free to 700 people in Jalna.
Dr. Satish Goyal organized the Jalna region program.

Jammu: Dr. Annil Mahajan, an eminent Rheumatologist in Jammu region, delivered a lecture on ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis – Trends in Management’ in Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. It was attended by a large number of senior and junior doctors. The presentation was followed by a very interesting question and answer session. The whole program was well covered by the Press.
A Free Medical Camp for Arthritis and other Rheumatic diseases was organized at Nagrota, a rural area about 12 kms away from Jammu city.
Awareness lecture on ‘Osteoporosis’ was delivered at Govt. Girls Higher Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu on 18 Oct 2002 – World Menopause Day. Public awareness lecture on ‘Menopause and Osteoporosis’ was delivered by Dr. Sudhaa Sharma (Gynaecologist, GMC, Jammu) and Dr. Annil Mahajan.
The Jammu region programs were organized by Dr. Annil Mahajan and his team.

Pune: To commemorate the World Arthritis Day, a CME on Arthritis and Orthopedics was organized on 11 Oct 02 at Lokmanya Hospital, Pune. Talks were delivered on ‘Update Management of Arthritis’ by Dr. Arvind Chopra, Director, Center for Rheumatic Diseases (Secretary, BJD-INDIA: NAN) and ‘Surgical Management of Advanced Knee Arthritis (TKR)’ by Dr. Mitchell Samuelson, Senior Orthopedic Surgeon, USA. Dr. Samuelson is the pioneer of hip and knee prosthesis in the World today. This CME update was organized by Dr. Narendra Vaidya, Director, Orthopedics, Lokmanya Hospital.
A public function was held in village Bhigwan (Pune District), 100 kms away from Pune, on 12 Oct 02 – World Arthritis Day. More than 150 villagers from the region attended this function in spite of heavy rains. Banners and posters were put up in the entire 30 km radius region. 137 patients with various forms of arthritis and spine disorders were provided free-of-cost clinical and laboratory examination by CRD, Pune, with a view to provide diagnosis and therapy guidance. A special health education issue on ‘Spine’ prepared by Mission Arthritis India (MAI) -a patient support group, was distributed. An excellent coverage was provided by a number of rural based journalists.
A CME on “Arthritis” was held on 12 Oct 02 evening in Baramati, a small town 130 kms from Pune which is a thriving and productive rural region in Western India. 64 doctors (GPs, Physicians) attended the CME.
235 people, mostly patients of musculoskeletal articular problems, attended a public function organized by BJD-INDIA: Pune and MAI on 16 Oct 2002. Mr. P C Nahar, Chairman, MAI and Executive committee member, BJD-INDIA: NAN introduced MAI and BJD to the public. Health education talks were delivered on ‘Osteoporosis’ by Dr. Seemantini Pathare, MD, Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, ‘Diet and Arthritis’ by Dr. Medha Patwardhan, Diet Consultant, and ‘Pain’ by Dr. Arvind Chopra, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon (Secretary, BJD-INDIA: NAN). Mrs. Malati Agate, a senior freelance journalist, suffering from chronic rheumatoid arthritis, delivered a much appreciated inspirational talk. Dr Sangita Barve enthralled the audience by reciting an encouraging poem on arthritis. Mrs. Manjiri Dhamankar entertained the community by an entertainment program. The Bombay Engineering Group military band further entertained them by playing national songs of courage and spirit. Miss Soma Saluja compered the program for the evening and provided didactic talks and crisp messages on BJD and health. BJD brochures and health education material, specially created for the occasion, were distributed. Colorful banners and posters were put up at many vantage points in the metropolis.
Audio-visual recording of both Pune and Bhigwan programs have been done for public education.
Dr. Arvind Chopra and his team from CRD and members of MAI organized the Pune region programs.