What an awesome weekend at the CASA congress and ACF AGM. The views were spectacular and even those of us from the larger continent didn’t find it too ‘windy’ in Cape Town!

It was great to see a good number of Chiropractors from all over Africa coming from as far as Ghana to participate. A wonderful way to connect with our profession and it’s pioneers, some of which have a ‘lonely’ chiropractic existence in their home country as the only chiropractor. This was a chance to learn, not solely from the amazing speakers lined up by CASA but from each other, our experiences and the problems and solutions that have been developed in individual countries. We had a fantastic meeting regarding Chiropractic Education in Africa and hope we can build on this to develop a new and innovative education concept on the continent. Forging a way forward in developing the chiropractic profession in Africa.

The AGM was extremely successful even with our President having to attend virtually; not an easy feat. Thank you to Richard Brown for your opening words. We are, as always, grateful for your support of our small community of chiropractors in Africa. I am sure that it is at events like this that we truly foster a ‘community’ and the associations we build facilitate our collective and individual progress; ‘Chiropractors that fire together, wire together’.

A huge thank you to all those that attended and to CASA for hosting us and organising such a successful congress!

I would like to remind everyone that we decided to host the next conference in Rwanda in 2023. Keep an eye out for further information. I hope we can bring chiropractors from all over Africa together in Rwanda. 

Dr. Sarah Worthington

 The initiative of this outreach programme was started in June 2016 in order to improve health care services in areas that do not have an abundance of service providers.  As our previous Honorable Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Bernhard Haufiku, had called upon medical service providers to reach out into underserviced areas, this project aims to follow his call.  June 2019 will mark the fourth spinal outreach project into the Kavango Region.

We have 4 objectives we would like to meet:

1. Deliver free spinal and extremity care treatments to those in need.
2. Create awareness about spinal health and related issues.
3. Present suggestions to avoid back injuries.
4. Introduce simple exercises and postural habits to maintain a healthy spine and joints in general.

All of these are a continuation of our annual drive on World Spine Day (16^th October) to raise awareness about bone and joint health.  World Spine Day is a globally celebrated day which is part of the Global Alliance of Musculoskeletal Health’s (previously Bone and Joint Decade) Action Week in October every year.  You might have read articles in the newspapers referring to this movement.

We feel that education and prevention strategies are key for a healthy, productive and inspired Namibian population.  And this programme aims to not only provide treatment, but also to empower people to take responsibility for their spinal and joint health.

This year we will be visiting the Kavango West region from the 12^th to 15^th of June 2019.  We will be serving the communities around Nkurenkuru.

In the previous years we have made the experience that most patients seen were suffering from many other illnesses like TB, recurrent colds and flus, were HIV positive or generally had a weakened immune system.  In order to help them regarding an overall stronger health status we discussed dietary options like eating natural traditional foods, cutting out sugar and sugary drinks, drinking a lot more water etc.  We however feel that the patients seen could immensely benefit from vitamin supplements or immune boosting products of any sort.

We have been very blessed to receive donations from various companies.  Solgar has sponsored children’s vitamins which we will be able to hand out to those in need.  And Nandrea/Biorem have given us a brilliant natural immune-boosting product called “Health for Africa”.

We are really looking forward to serving the community.

Kind regards

Elga Drews

President Namibia Chiropractic Association

The Global Spine Care Initiative (GSCI) collaborative is made of 68 international experts including, medical specialists, physical therapists, doctors of chiropractic, and other participants.

The GSCI authors published 15 papers in a supplemental issue the European Spine Journal that include literature reviews and recommendations for the safest and most effective care and suggestions for how to implement the new model anywhere in the world. The Global Spine Care Initiative has had robust presence at international professional and scientific meetings during the recent quarter.

 Afua Adjei-Kwayisi, MD, DC from Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Accra, Ghana, presented “The Global Spine Care Initiative: A roadmap to transform spine care in Ghana” at the Medical Knowledge Fiesta hosted by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, in Ghana.

She stated that “In attendance were senior colleagues, and it was amazing to note that they were intrigued and excited about the benefits of the GSCI model. Most admitted that we indeed have a gap in our health care system in Ghana when it comes to spinal and musculoskeletal issues. One surgeon mentioned he was at a loss sometimes, not knowing what to do with backache issues aside from using medication.”

Dr. Adjei-Kwayisi reported that her presentation was well-received and that the audience was very interested in knowing more about how to implement the model of care.

Bart Green, DC, MSEd, PhD from Stanford Health Care, San Diego and National University of Health Sciences, Lombard, USA presented “Global Spine Care Initiative: A scoping review of risk factors and prevention for neural tube defects” at the American Public Health Association. The interdisciplinary audience was intrigued by the topic and the broad range of impact that prevention can have on spine health and that chiropractors and other health care providers can have an impact on prevention of spine deformities.

“The language of public health and prevention can help to break down barriers and bridge the gap between sick care and health care. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to share the GSCI message to those attending and share the work that we have done so far” reported Dr. Green.

“We know that doctors of chiropractic are excellent for treating back pain but we can also do so much more, including prevention of some spine-related disorders” he added.

”My name is Bongeka Caluza, a young woman who is God fearing, career oriented and enterprising. I am a young vibrant woman who always sees the good in every situation and always puts people first.

My life mission is to help people where I can and to give hope to the hopeless with the little I have. I am a student studying a Master’s Degree (M.Tech) in Chiropractic at Durban University of Technology.

 I am a well dedicated person who is extremely passionate about studying. I come from a disadvantaged background and I am the first person in my family to make it to university. I grew up in a rural area where there was no electricity nor running tap water; we used to fetch water from the river and fetch firewood from the bush in order to be able to do basic things like cooking.

I have always wanted to help in treating children with musculoskeletal problems because people in my community suffered from back problems and other musculoskeletal conditions due to the fact that they had to do lots of household chores, care for their family and carry supplies like firewood and water etc.

The main reason I chose to study chiropractic is that it deals with the natural way of treating without the use of medication. My main goal is to mentor and empower young girls from a disadvantaged background, become a public intellectual, and to become the best chiropractor i can.

My journey has not been easy, I have faced many challenges along the way. One of the challenges I faced was working part-time in order to pay for my tuition fees. Another challenge was sacrificing my time to do household chores which was the biggest challenge towards my education, leaving little time for family and sleep!

I had to study and do my best because my education was my first priority. I was brought up by a single parent, but my dedication and devotion kept me motivated to deal with all the challenges and struggles.

Last year I was offered a bursary by the Chiropractic Association of South Africa, this bursary changed my life because I had outstanding tuition fees and if I did not get it then I was not going to be able to finish my studies.

Once I qualify, I want to gain more knowledge from other chiropractors with many years of clinical experience. I will do so by working as a locum/associate chiropractor in the first three years after graduating. Once I have gained knowledge my main goal will be to open my own private practice and make chiropractic treatment available to all individuals from different backgrounds.”