South Africa recently joined over forty countries worldwide in the launch of the '€œBone and Joint Decade'€, a global campaign under the auspices of the World Health Organisation. South Africa'€™s participation in the Bone and Joint Decade programme follows its launch in Geneva in 2000. The programme will run until the year 2010. This initiative will highlight a range of musculoskeletal conditions including arthritis, osteoporosis, spinal disorders, lower back pain and sports injuries that affect millions of people. It hopes to encourage greater understanding and treatment of these diseases through research, prevention and education. Khopotso Bodibe reports.