Bone Alliance Singapore hosts “Good to the Bones” Symposium

This post was written by Shannon Leong, a student majoring in Life Sciences at the National University of Singapore and a former intern with ACCESS Health Singapore.

Poor bone health affects 200 million older individuals globally.  In rapidly aging societies like Singapore, bone related ailments are a major cause for disability. The country now has one of the highest age adjusted hip fracture rates in Asia. In May this year, ACCESS Health, together with a team of local partners, launched Bone Alliance Singapore to collectively raise awareness and engage communities on the importance of bone health.

Bone Alliance Singapore recently held its inaugural event with nearly 100 participants from community organizations, hospitals, academia, and industry. Entitled “Good to the Bones”, the symposium kicked off with a tai chi session by one of Singapore’s leading rheumatologists, Dr. Lau Tang Ching. Dr. Lau followed by his talk on cost-effective care of osteoporosis. The president of Osteoporosis Society Singapore, Dr. Chionh Siok Bee, urged the audience to learn more about bone health and take proactive steps to maintain good bone health.  In addition to practical health advice offered by leading clinicians, physiotherapist, and nutritionists, the symposium featured several technology startups that are working on solutions to address bone-related disability and illness.

With the successful launch of the Bone Alliance Singapore, ACCESS Health and its Bone Alliance co-members aim  to promote collaboration and meaningful action to promote bone health and stem the tide of bone fractures and related illnesses in Singapore.