The global burden of musculoskeletal injuries: challenges and solutions

Abstract

Musculoskeletal injuries are a major public health problem globally, contributing a large burden of disability and suffering. This burden could be considerably lowered by implementation of affordable and sustainable strategies to strengthen orthopaedic trauma care, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This article summarizes the global burden of musculoskeletal injuries and provides several examples of successful programs that have improved care of injuries in health facilities in low- and middle-income countries. Finally, it discusses WHO efforts to build on the country experiences and to make progress in lowering the burden of musculoskeletal injuries globally.

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Fig. 1

The Emergency and Essential Surgical Care training workshop being held as joint undertaking of Ministry of Health and WHO in Tanzania is shown. Such collaborative training workshops have been held in 24 countries.