The economic and financial meltdown coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic have had a devastating impact on all aspects of Lebanon – including AUB and its Medical Center (AUBMC). These are truly challenging days.

Although it is easy to become overwhelmed with the obstacles that we face today, it is so important that we do all we can to protect the valuable resources that we have in our country. One of those resources is the Calcium Metabolism and Osteoporosis Program (CaMOP) at AUBMC, led by Professor Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan. Professor El-Hajj Fuleihan is a physician-scientist recognized among the world's top 2% of scholars in their field in a recent international study. Upon returning to her alma mater in 1998, she founded the CaMOP, which has established a global reputation and has steadily grown in impact and outreach over the years. It is the impeccable patient care provided by AUBMC faculty to over 25,000 patients from Lebanon, the region, and across the world, its original research, and its valuable educational activities, that have earned CaMOP recognition as a unique center of expertise worldwide. Indeed, CaMOP is the only WHO Collaborating Center for Metabolic Bone Disorders in the region; its Bone Mineral Density Unit is the only center outside the US to receive accreditation by the International Society of Densitometry, providing services to thousands of patients each year.

We are writing to ask for your support for CaMOP – and for the many people who suffer from osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a silent and deadly disease that is more common than cancer and cardiovascular diseases. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, one in three women and one in five men over the age of 50 will suffer a broken bone due to osteoporosis. Unfortunately, most patients with osteoporosis are not diagnosed and do not receive the treatment that could prevent a debilitating hip or back fracture.

Donations of any amount to the CaMOP Fund are welcome – and will make a profound difference. Here are just some of the many initiatives you will be benefiting through your support for this critically important program:

1. Osteoporosis evaluation for high-risk patients: to support needy patients by providing free bone mineral density (BMD) and lab tests that are critical to bone health. Target population are patients seeking care at AUB’s Outpatient Department (OPD), children with cancer, patients with breast cancer, and patients with prostate cancer. The average cost per patient is around $400. We estimate the needy population that could benefit from this program to be around 1,050 per year. Physician professional fees for patients benefitting from this initiative are waived – patients or the fund will not be charged physician professional fees.
2. The Fracture Liaison Service: to ensure the delivery of the highest standards of care to patients with hip fractures, the most devastating of all osteoporotic fractures. Hip fractures are associated with pain, loss of functional independence, and a 25-40% mortality rate within three years of the fracture. The average cost per patient is around $1,300. We estimate the needy population that could benefit from this initiative to be around 80 per year. Physician professional fees for patients benefitting from this initiative are waived – patients or the fund will not be charged physician professional fees.
3. Outreach efforts: to develop educational materials on osteoporosis, vitamin D, and densitometry, for patients and the public, organizing workshops for health professionals, and participating in World Osteoporosis Day activities on October 20 each year. We estimate the cost of the public awareness and educational outreach efforts to be around $15,000 per year.
4. Fellowship training program in osteoporosis and metabolic bone disorders: to train recent medical graduates, who will become future healthcare leaders for osteoporosis and bone diseases for our country and the region. This program is offered in collaboration with the most prestigious institutions in the US including the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, and other leading centers of excellence. The total cost of the two-year fellowship program is $135,000.

We thank you for your support of the Calcium Metabolism and Osteoporosis Program, our Medical Center, and Lebanon, at one of the most critical times for our country. Please click on one of the above tabs to support our program either through online donation, wire transfer or by check.

To learn more about CaMOP, please click here

For more information on different ways to support The Calcium Metabolism and Osteoporosis Program, please contact:

1. Mr. Walid Katergi: wkatergi@aub.edu; +1 (440) 447-7007
2. Ms. Mariam Sabbah: ms180@aub.edu.lb; +961 76 092 828