Did you know more than 200 million people worldwide live with osteoporosis?

Or that Asia Pacific is home to 4.5 billion people and comprises 71 countries with vastly different healthcare systems?

Asia’s population aged over 65 years is projected to more than quadruple by 2050, and further grow almost six-fold by 2100.

Concerningly, by 2050, more than half the world’s hip fractures will occur in Asia-Pacific.

The cost of treating a single hip fracture represents approximately 19 per cent of Asia Pacific’s regional per-head gross domestic product (GDP) each year.

The Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) was formed to develop tangible solutions to the substantive challenges involving osteoporosis management and fracture prevention across the region.

APCO comprises osteoporosis experts from 19 countries and regions in the world’s most populated and fastest ageing region charged with developing tangible solutions to the substantive challenges involving osteoporosis management and fracture prevention.

Representing the multiple specialities in the medical and surgical field, the Consortium aims to create a pan-Asia Pacific “Framework” for the implementation of minimum clinical standards for the screening, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis targeting a broad range of high-risk groups.

APCO’s mission is to engage with relevant stakeholders, including healthcare providers, policy makers and the public, to help develop and implement country and region-specific programs for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, and its complication of fragility fractures, in Asia Pacific.

APCO’s vision – to move “towards reducing the burden of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in the Asia Pacific region” – will be achieved by:

• Securing stakeholder acceptance of osteoporosis as a key public health priority;
• Creating solutions to minimise the burden of osteoporosis and reduce fragility fractures; and
• Enabling healthier ageing through fewer fractures.

Please reach out if you’d like to know more about our work, how you can be involved or if you would like to share your experience of working with osteoporosis from your country.

Keep up to date with the latest osteoporosis news, research and guidelines across Asia Pacific via our LinkedIn page and keep checking back to our website for the latest blogs.