Osteoporosis and Fragility Fracture Policy Network: calling for urgent policy action
The Osteoporosis and Fragility Fracture Policy Network is a multi-stakeholder group aiming to raise awareness of osteoporosis and fragility fractures as a policy priority across Europe.
We call on European policymakers and decision-makers to ensure that best practice care is available to the millions of people living with osteoporosis in Europe,1 so that they can avoid fractures and maintain their quality of life, mobility and independence.
Watch our brief video which introduces the burden of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in Europe, and makes the case for policymakers and decision-makers to act now.
Click below to read our detailed call to action for European institutions, national leadership, and regional and local systems.
Osteoporosis and fragility fractures across Europe
In January 2020 we published Osteoporosis and fragility fractures: a policy toolkit which provides a comprehensive, evidence-based case for change. This resource is designed to equip policymakers and decision-makers with the knowledge they need in order to implement best practice in osteoporosis and fragility fracture care at scale.
Why osteoporosis and fragility fractures need to be a policy priority
Osteoporosis is a chronic disease which weakens bones, leaving people at risk of painful and often life-changing fragility fractures.1 In 2010, it was estimated that there were 3.5 million new fragility fractures in the EU – the equivalent of nearly 10,000 each day.1 Read more about the challenge of osteoporosis and fragility fractures.
While bones naturally weaken as we age, osteoporosis and fragility fractures are not inevitable.2 We have the tools and expertise to effectively manage osteoporosis and prevent many fragility fractures before they occur. These can be summarised in five building blocks for an effective policy response.
Care and management of osteoporosis and fragility fractures varies across Europe. Learn about national perspectives by exploring our country profiles.
The Osteoporosis and Fragility Fracture Policy Network
The Osteoporosis and Fragility Fracture Policy Network brings together leading European experts and commentators in osteoporosis and fragility fractures, policy change and wider societal priorities such as healthy ageing and support for carers. The Network aims to support wider engagement with policymakers across Europe and to share insights on best-practice approaches.
The day-to-day activities of the Network are led by the Secretariat (run by The Health Policy Partnership), which is guided by the Network’s Expert Advisory Group (EAG).
Click below for more information about the Network, including a full list of members.
Date of preparation: October 2020.
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- Hernlund E, Svedbom A, Ivergard M, et al. 2013. Osteoporosis in the European Union: medical management, epidemiology and economic burden. A report prepared in collaboration with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations (EFPIA). Arch Osteoporos 8: 136
- Hannan MT, Felson DT, Dawson-Hughes B, et al. 2000. Risk Factors for Longitudinal Bone Loss in Elderly Men and Women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study. J Bone Miner Res 15(4): 710-20
- International Osteoporosis Foundation. 2018. Broken bones, broken lives: A roadmap to solve the fragility fracture crisis in Europe. Nyon: IOF