Osteoporosis Australia’s CEO, Mr Greg Lyubomirsky, clinched the prestigious 2019 International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) President’s Award for his exceptional contribution to the bone field at the World Congress of Osteoporosis in Paris on April 5, 2019.
Mr Lyubomirsky is only the third Australian to receive this award, which acknowledges one’s outstanding commitment and contribution to advancing education and awareness in osteoporosis.
Reflecting on this once-in-a-lifetime achievement, Mr Lyubomirsky said “receiving the 2019 IOF President’s Award is a great honour. It recognises our significant achievements in the bone health arena to date and further signals the importance of doing more to help reduce the impact on patients, their families and the healthcare system.”
The IOF award recognises Mr Lyubomirsky’s significant work and key achievements in raising the profile of bone health in Australia, including:
- Developing and launching the Know Your Bones online self-assessment for consumers, in partnership with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and subsequently achieving more than 50,000 self-assessment completions.
- Creating an Inaugural Community Risk Report, using Know Your Bones data, launched by Federal Health Minister, The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, in the lead up to World Osteoporosis Day (October 2018).
- Osteoporosis Australia’s development of a National Strategic Action Plan for Osteoporosis on behalf of the Federal Government.
Osteoporosis is a condition that causes bones to become thin, weak and fragile, leading to a higher risk of fractures (or breaks) and affects up to a million Australians. Osteoporosis is a result of our bones losing minerals, such as calcium, more quickly than the body can replace them, which reduces bone density or thickness.
There were an estimated 165,000 fractures due to poor bone health in 2018. Up to 70 per cent of the overall cost of osteoporosis relates to direct fracture costs, yet many patients (up to 80 per cent) remain undiagnosed and/or untreated following a fracture. Reducing fracture numbers is a core commitment of Osteoporosis Australia.
To learn more about your bone
health, visit Osteoporosis Australia’s website https://www.osteoporosis.org.au/.