Humanitarian Efforts Archives

ChiroMissions Update

February 2, 2018 By Test

NEWS ALERT FROM

As the representative to the United Nations Department of Public Information it is my duty to report information from the United Nations to the chiropractic profession. The World Chiropractic Alliance is currently the only chiropractic professional organization with this status. The WCA represents a natural life style with chiropractors specializing in the detection and correction of vertebral subluxations. Todays report from the United Nations is regarding the UN’s policies on antibiotics.

Updating essential drugs list, UN health agency aims to preserve potency of ‘last resort’ antibiotics: 6 July 2017 – As part of its effort to combat growing drug resistance, the United Nations health agency today announced that it is classifying antibiotics into three categories and providing new advice on which to use for common infections and which to preserve for the most serious circumstances.

According to a news release issued by the agency, a key revision in this year’s update was the grouping of antibiotic medicines into three categories – Access, Watch and Reserve to enhance treatment outcomes, reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria, and preserve the effectiveness of “last resort” antibiotics that are needed when all others fail.

Also, 10 antibiotics for adults and 12 for children were also added to the list.

“The new WHO list should help health system planners and prescribers ensure people who need antibiotics have access to them, and ensure they get the right one,” said Suzanne Hill, the Director of Essential Medicines and Health Products at the UN agency, in a news release in which she also underscored the importance of proper use of these drugs given rising antimicrobial resistance in populations around the globe.

The updates to the antibiotics section are also in support of the UN agency’s global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, the news release added.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

In addition to the antibiotics, new drugs included in the WHO Essentials Medicines List (EML) contain new medicines, such as two oral cancer treatments, a new pill for hepatitis C (HepC) that combines two medicines, a more effective treatment for HIV as well as an older drug that can be taken to prevent HIV infection in people at high risk, new paediatric formulations of medicines for tuberculosis (TB), and pain relievers.
Further in the release, Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation also highlighted that safe and effective medicines form an essential part of any health system.

“Making sure all people can access the medicines they need, when and where they need them, is vital to countries’ progress towards universal health coverage,” she said.

The WHO list of essential medicines was launched in 1977, coinciding with the endorsement by governments at the World Health Assembly of “Health for all” as the guiding principle for WHO and countries’ health policies.

Many countries have adopted the concept of essential medicines and have developed lists of their own, using the EML as a guide. The EML is updated and revised every two years by the WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines.

United Nations Containers Leave Haiti

May 18, 2017 By WCA Staff

The United Nations military are leaving Haiti.

Thousands of United Nations military personnel have been receiving chiropractic care over the last 4 years during Mission Life Internationals mission trips to Haiti. The Urugyuan military donated 20 bunk beds, 10 beds, 50 mattresses, cooking equipment, 3 containers filled with many other things to Mission Life International’s mission projects. Dr. Morgan is spearheading the creation of a chiropractic school in Haiti that will be part of the Global Village of Hope. Mission Life International’s Global Village of Hope was founded in 2012 by Peter Morgan, DC; Gary Deutchman, DC; and Stephen Simonetti, DC. The Global Village of Hope began with a small school and orphanage in a small Haitian city called Ouanaminthe. The vision of the Global Village of Hope is multidimensional. The Global Village will include public grounds and a private campus in Ounaminthe, Haiti, with a small sister campus in Dajabon, Dominican Republic. Our public grounds will accommodate a public library, public athletic fields, public gardens, Chiropractic health center and a Christian church. Our private grounds will include a Christian University recognized by the Haitian Education Service. A clean potable water supply program and sports peer-to-peer education program. Campus housing will include several residence homes. (approximately $50,000 US for each home) Our Mission Life University will include the first Christian Chiropractic College; a College of Language and Arts, a Theological College, a Vocational College including auto mechanics, woodworking, electrical studies, plumbing, fine arts, computer science, tourism (travel/leisure), hygiene, sanitation, goal setting, small business, and astronomy.

During his 31-year career as a chiropractor, Peter Morgan, DC, has lead 79 teams who have adjusted millions of men, women, and children. 79 humanitarian trips over the past 15 years, many of them sponsored and promoted by the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA).Because of the devastating earthquakes that nearly destroyed Haiti in 2010, Dr. Morgan has focused particular attention on the island of Hispaniola. For the last 5 years Dr. Morgan, has taken 25 different teams of chiropractors and chiropractic students to URUBATT 2, the Haiti United Nations military base. Some teams with as many as 96 chiropractors. They also had the opportunity to examine and adjust 5 different commanders, 6 colonels, many majors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants and thousands of military personal from Uruguay, Peru and Brazil who were stationed at this base over the last 5 years.

“One of the key goals of the WCA is to develop, promote, and support humanitarian programs that reach out to populations that, due to geographic or economic factors, cannot access chiropractic care. During the past two decades, Dr. Morgan been involved in mission trips from remote villages in Tibet to overcrowded tenements in the United States. Dr. Morgan states “We want to deliver Chiropractic care around the world even in remote areas in developing countries.

Dr. Morgan states that his teams also had the opportunity to teach the “Straighten up America” program to the military from three countries. As a member of the WCA Board of Governors, Dr. Morgan works closely with Haitian health and government officials, as well as the departments within the United Nations. In December 1998, the WCA was named an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). Dr. Morgan has been the lead chiropractic representative for the last 7 years. Part of Dr. Morgan’s job is to make sure the chiropractic profession is educated on the global need for health care in general and chiropractic in particular. Dr. Morgan also serves as President of Mission Life International and as an International committee officer for the International Chiropractic Association.

Dr. Morgan added that, “At schools, we teach Straighten Up America and check all the children. Our team sees approximately 6,000 people a day – 6,000 people a day for 8 days. We not only check and adjust the people, we tell the chiropractic story to groups of 50 at a time. This is some awesome and fun work. Giving for the sake of giving, giving out of our own abundance. Using the blessing that God bestowed upon us – our healing hands.”

Before he embarks on another mission, he makes a plea of his own, for food, clothing, money, and support of any kind to help our people and in the construction of the village of hope and chiropractic school. “Dr. Morgan thanks all the people who have donated to our Mission Life International orphanage over the years, especially to the 3,900 chiropractors who have joined our trips over the last 15 years on these 79 chiropractic mission trips.

To learn more about these missions, or to sign up for an upcoming trip, visit chiromissions.com or missionlifeinternational.com or call 646-323-9254.

The current United Nations personnel who are leaving Haiti consist of 8.720 soldiers and 3, 550 police, supported by 510 international staff, 1.214 national staff, and 231 UN volunteers.

WCA moves forward on humanitarian efforts

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

by Peter Morgan, DC

Doctors who attend the New Beginnings seminar in New Jersey have a wide variety of activities to choose from, including presentations by some of the profession’s most popular speakers. The variety, as well as the sustained energy, are two of the reasons the event has become a “must attend” occasion.

During a recent seminar, participants had one more option available to them: The World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) Humanitarian Forum.

The purpose of the forum was to obtain input from organizations involved in global humanitarian missions on ways the WCA could support those efforts. Approximately 75 people attended the meeting, representing organizations such as Mission Life International, Mission- Chiropractic, Spinal Missions, ChiroMission, the “Best Mission Trip Ever,” AdJust World, Third World Order, The Scoliosis Care Foundation, Ethiopia Chiropractic Missions, African Chiropractic Missions, School of Wellness, New Beginnings, and The New York Chiropractic Council.

Also in attendance were Shane Walker, DC, president of the Federation of Straight Chiropractic Organizations (FSCO); Jon Schwartzbauer, DC, president of Sherman Chiropractic College; and Arno Burnier, DC, chiropractic humanitarian activist.

In the weeks following the forum, the WCA has continued to develop its plans for humanitarian activities, based on the feedback obtained at the forum. As a result, it plans to offer scholarships to students wishing to participate in mission, provide administrative support and publicity to humanitarian groups; coordinate with NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) associated with the United Nations; raise awareness of chiropractic charitable work through the global health care community; and make available information and resources to groups and individuals engaged in such work.

The WCA’s mission statement was re-written last year to reflect the organization’s continued commitment to supporting the chiropractic profession as a whole, and providing a wide range of resources to assist individual doctors of chiropractic.

“We are particularly thankful to the New Beginnings Seminars for giving us the platform from which to reach our audience,” stated Peter Morgan, DC, who has been active in the WCA’s new humanitarian efforts and moderated the forum. “New Beginnings has consistently been breaking attendance records in response to its world class presenters and unique presentation schedule. Founder, Jim Dubel, DC, presides over an exciting fast-paced event that offers the profession’s best and brightest speakers.” Among the speakers at recent New Beginnings events were Drs. Liam Shubel, Dean Sottile, Sharon Gorman, Dan Gambinio, Ron Sinagra, and Dean DePice.

The next New Beginnings meeting will be held April 8-10 at the Ocean Place Resort & Spa in Red Bank, NJ. For more information, visit www.nbchiro.com or call 732-747-4646.

Dr. Terry Rondberg wins ‘Texas Humanitarian’ Award

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

Dr. Terry A. Rondberg, CEO of the World Chiropractic Alliance and publisher of The Chiropractic Journal, was presented with the prestigious “Sterling Pruitt Humanitarian Award,” by the Chiropractic Society of Texas (CST).

The award, presented on April 9, 1999, is named after one of Texas’ most beloved and respected chiropractic pioneers and is given “In appreciation of distinguished service to our fellow man in the interest of public health and for dedication to public health and for dedication to the sick and suffering of the State of Texas.”

According to Society spokesman R.J. Kelly, D.C., “This award is the highest honor given by the CST and recognizes the chiropractor who has done the most for the profession… It is our belief that Dr. Rondberg is truly a warrior and visionary in chiropractic and we are very proud to acknowledge him with this award.”

On a more personal note, Dr. Kelly said that, in regards to the Rondberg award, he was reminded of a remark coach Bum Phillips made describing Earl Campbell: “He may not be the only one in his class, but it doesn’t take long to call roll.”

Kelly added: “Terry Rondberg has not only been extraordinary at identifying problems within the profession, but also at doing something about them. He saw that we did not have a periodical that represented principled chiropractic, so he created one. He found there were no books on chiropractic for the lay public; he has now written several. Observing that there was no association to act as a watchdog for ‘the principles,’ he created the WCA. Discovering that there was no ethical congruent malpractice insurance available, Dr. Rondberg established CBS.”

The choice of Dr. Rondberg to receive the award was unusual since it is ordinarily given to doctors within the state of Texas. Dr. Sid Williams was another “non-Texan” to receive the award in the past.

In accepting the award, Rondberg said he was “incredibly moved by the honor, particularly since the state is filled with principled doctors who have gained a widespread reputation for their diligent defense of subluxation-based chiropractic.”

He noted that he was accepting it on behalf of all doctors who continue to uphold the principles of chiropractic, and will be motivated to continue his work to make subluxation-based chiropractic the number one health care choice of the new millennium.

Peter Morgan named WCA NGO liaison

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

Peter Morgan, DC, long-time head of Mission Chiropractic and organizer of dozens of chiropractic humanitarian missions to developing nations, is undertaking another “mission” — this time, to the United Nations.

Morgan has been tapped by the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) to serve as its primary liaison with the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO). The WCA is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) affiliated with the United Nations Department of Public Information.

Since earning that designation in 1998, WCA representatives have worked with health officials in numerous countries, and have served in leadership roles with the NGO Health Committee. The WCA was a signatory of the Declaration on Patient-Centered Healthcare developed by the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations, and established a working relationship with the WHO, participating in the WHO Consultation on Chiropractic in Milan, Italy, and providing valued information for the WHO Guidelines on Basic Training and Safety in Chiropractic.

Morgan also heads the WCA Council on Humanitarian Efforts, which provides support for various chiropractic organizations providing free chiropractic services to underserved populations around the world.

For the last 20 months, the primary NGO liaison spot was held by Tim Merrick, DC, who attended briefings at the UN’s Manhattan headquarters, met with representatives of other NGOs from around the world, and shared information about chiropractic and the role chiropractors can play in addressing health concerns in developing nations as well as in first-world countries. Morgan worked closely with him in maintaining chiropractic’s presence in the NGO community. Dr. Merrick will continue to work with Morgan on UN-related issues.

Morgan is familiar with the special needs of the developing world, having participated in numerous humanitarian trips to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Trinidad, Tibet and other nations. His frequent missions to Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010 gave him firsthand knowledge of the special benefits of chiropractic aid in such areas. He often shares his stories in The Chiropractic Journal, and has inspired many DCs to volunteer in humanitarian efforts.

World Chiropractic Alliance works with the WHO on chiropractic projects

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

Ever since officials from the World Chiropractic Alliance met in Geneva with representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), they have been busy planning and working on several important projects to ensure chiropractic’s proper place in global health care programs.

The first task was to create a Power Point presentation documenting the laws relating to chiropractic which exist throughout the world. The WCA was called upon to research and present information on the licensing and legal status of all nations. He also needed to provide information on the number of D.C.s licensed and/or practicing in each country.

The WCA realized that the information not only needed to be accurate but had to be presented in an interesting manner in order to project the proper professional image of chiropractic to the world health care community.

The presentation helped provide WHO officials with much needed background information on the current status of chiropractic around the globe and was only the first of several projects which the World Chiropractic Alliance plans to work on with WHO.

The next two projects will be even more challenging:

#1 — Assist in the development of an international model law for chiropractic. This is particularly important since chiropractic is only now being introduced into many emerging nations.

In the next few years, as chiropractic spreads to all parts of the world, many countries will be formulating their own licensing and scope of practice laws.

The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) has already tried to infiltrate many of these nations and will undoubtedly promote a quasi-medical, musculoskeletal model of chiropractic. It will either ignore or, more likely, ridicule the concept of vertebral subluxation.

Until the World Chiropractic Alliance began working with the United Nations — first as an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) affiliated with the United Nations Department of Public Information and now with other global health agencies such as the World Health Organization — the WFC was the only voice speaking for chiropractic in the international arena.

However, the strong presence of the World Chiropractic Alliance has ensured that subluxation-based chiropractic will be represented and protected throughout the world.

#2 — Chiropractic missions to underdeveloped and emerging nations. The World Chiropractic Alliance has always supported and publicized the humanitarian and international educational work of doctors of chiropractic.

The Chiropractic Journal has featured stories of WCA members traveling to India, Honduras, Costa Rica, Russia and other nations. In the years to come, this effort will be even more critical as the world faces the potential health crisis caused by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and the uncontrollable spread of infectious diseases

The World Chiropractic Alliance will be at the forefront of the efforts to use chiropractic to strengthen the immune system, improve overall health, and fulfill the dreams of a subluxation-free world and the vision of worldwide wellness.

What is a chiropractic humanitarian?

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

by Peter Morgan, DC

A major focus of the World Chiropractic Alliance is to promote chiropractic humanitarianism around the world, and that raises the issue: what is a chiropractic humanitarian? The ways in which we all help others – from the patients we see daily in our offices to the third world children we meet on missions – makes us all “humanitarians” in a way.

As chiropractic humanitarians, we believe that improving human welfare is a moral imperative and by correcting subluxations we help to alleviate the suffering of others. Chiropractic humanitarians strive to ensure that those who are poor and those who have suffered traumatic events receive a chiropractic adjustment, so they can cope with this the physical, mental, and emotional stress they are called upon to endure.

Chiropractic humanitarians are strong professionals, students, and lay people. They are male and female, young and old, of all colors, cultures, ideologies, and backgrounds. Their motivations for humanitarian work are diverse, but all are united by their commitment to humanitarianism and chiropractic.

Chiropractic humanitarians strive to provide assistance to the increasing number of people affected by man-made and natural disasters every year. They reach out to the poorest and neediest people regardless of where they are in the world or what nationality, social or religious group they belong to.

They reflect everything that’s good and compassionate about our profession and our humanity – and should be respected and supported financially.

We face a future in which more humanitarian aid will be needed. If chiropractic humanitarians do not have full access to those in need, many thousands of people will not receive the chiropractic care they require. The best way to ensure chiropractic humanitarians can fulfill their mission is by improving awareness of and respect for the principles upon which chiropractic work is conducted.

In theory, humanitarian work is simple: you help people in need. But knowing how to help others is not always easy. The World Chiropractic Alliance, in its role as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) affiliated with the United Nations Department of Public Information, is in a unique position to support and publicize a variety of chiropractic missions. This is why it’s so important to be a member of the World Chiropractic Alliance and, in that way, support the efforts of chiropractic humanitarians everywhere.

Visit www.WorldChiropracticAlliance.org for more information on supporting or joining this remarkable organization.

(Peter Morgan, DC, is head of Mission Chiropractic, and has led dozens of chiropractic humanitarian missions to developing nations. He is the chairman of the World Chiropractic Alliance Council on Humanitarian Efforts. Dr. Morgan and Tim Merrick, DC, serve as the WCA’s NGO representatives affiliated with the United Nations Department of Public Information.)

WCA mission update… Returning to Haiti

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

by Peter H. Morgan, DC

The World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) has coordinated and supported a number of humanitarian chiropractic mission trips in 2013, including a return visit by chiropractors to Haiti. The trip took place in October and involved a team of 55 DCs.

The effort was definitely in keeping with the new mission statement of the World Chiropractic Alliance, which states that the organization is dedicated to: “develop, promote and support humanitarian programs that reach out to populations that, due to geographic or economic factors, cannot access chiropractic care.”

Although team members stayed at a Four-Star hotel on a beautiful white sand beach, with a view of the mountains behind them, the trip was anything but a fun vacation.

Each morning, we rose at seven, grabbed a quick breakfast, and were out the door in a half hour’s time. In two rented buses and three SUVs, we fanned out to reach 20 different destinations.

The group was divided into 10 smaller teams, with each unit going to a school in the morning and a church in the afternoon. At each school, we taught the “Straighten Up America” program and checked about 250 children. When we pulled up at the churches, thousands of people were usually lined up waiting to be adjusted.

Each 10-person unit cared for as many as 600 people a day, meaning the whole mission team saw more than 6,000 people a day for four days straight. We not only check and adjust each individual, we tell the chiropractic story to groups of 50 at a time. This is awesome and fun work. Giving for the sake of giving, giving out of our own abundance, using the blessing that God bestowed upon us: our healing hands.

It’s been nearly two years since the devastating earthquake hit the island in January 2010. In many ways, little has changed since then and, in some ways, things have actually gotten worse. There was a cholera outbreak in the quake’s aftermath, and other diseases run rampant as well. During each trip we’ve made to Haiti in the years since the earthquake, we adjust many with cholera. At one orphanage, all 100+ children I see have fungal infections on their heads. Some have never owned a toothbrush.

Exhausted, this trip’s mission team members returned to the hotel each evening to share a meal and swap stories of the miracles we’d witnessed that day. Then we’d hold an impromptu chiropractic philosophy roundtable, and even teach and review chiropractic technique.

I’m back in New York now, but I get phone calls and e-mails from Haiti every day. “Please don’t forget us. Please help us,” they plead. I tell them we won’t forget. Ever. And we’ll be back to help. Again and again, until we bring chiropractic healing to every one of the people in that area.

WCA mission adjusts 60,000 in 7 days

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

In March, a team of 22 chiropractors — joined by 51 chiropractic students — made a powerful impact on the lives of approximately 60,000 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic during a humanitarian mission sponsored by the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) and Mission Life International.

Leading the group was Peter Morgan, DC, the WCA’s representative to the United Nations Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organization section. It was his 12th mission to Haiti since the devastating earthquake in January 2010.

“This is an area of the world where countless numbers of orphans roam streets paved with garbage. There are thousands of homeless people,” Dr. Morgan noted. “Continuing to respond to the critical needs of this devastated country, each chiropractor brought two suitcases filled with toothpaste, tooth brushes, soap, shampoo, pencils, and small notebooks for the children. More than 7,000 pounds of items we take for granted in the United States, were distributed to children in lands where such goods are needed desperately.”

After serving for four days in Haiti, the team traveled to the Dominican Republic, where they were met by the students. Together they traveled into the jungles and remote villages, bringing chiropractic care to residents in the cities of Ouanaminthe and Cape Haiti.

“The blessed hands continued with thousands of adjustments in other Dominican Republic cities, villages and hilltop towns,” Morgan said. “We’re making slow but steady progress in the most impoverished nation in the western hemisphere.”

One of Morgan’s patients, a famous Haitian actor known as “Boss Massel,” traveled with the doctors for a while, as did Dr. Eddy Delaleu, the only chiropractor in Haiti, and Alex, who runs an orphanage on the island nation.

“Each morning we would drive the bus into Haiti and adjust all the orphans throughout the city. We visited five different orphanages and adjusted about 2,000 people every day at three different churches,” Morgan recalled. They made their “headquarters” in a town named La Vejia DaJabon, where “the horses are not tied down, 200 cows will pass by every hour and herds of sheep pass every two hours. We adjusted everyone in this town as well as all the people they brought from other towns,” he added.

After adjusting such large numbers of people each day, the group would meet in the evening for classes held by Steve Simonetti, DC, past president of the Congress of Chiropractic State Organizations and Gary Deutchman, DC, founder of the Scoliosis Care Foundation.

The group also held a philosophy meeting, where Drs. Simonetti, Deutchman, and Morgan were speakers along with Drs. Bradley Rauch and Ronald Sinagra.

“The following morning, we divided up into 20 different teams and headed out on four buses. Each team had a translator from the local English school and at each site we also had a team coordinator,” Morgan related. “So our team of 70 grew to a team of 110 plus the four bus drivers. On Thursday and Friday mornings, we adjusted in schools. Every school had between 400 and 700 students, teachers, and bus drivers. We averaged 600 adjustments at each school. We checked and adjusted approximately 12,000 children on Thursday and 12,000 children on Friday.”

At one school, Morgan got permission for chiropractic student and team member Sebastian Colon to give a chiropractic talk during a conference with about 100 teachers. The response was so positive that the young man ended up arranging for similar talks to be given to 25 schools during the next mission trip!

By the time the 7-day mission ended, Morgan estimated that some 60,000 people had been adjusted, including a blind man whose sight was restored after an adjustment by Dr. Sinagra. “He was totally blind,” Morgan explained. “After his adjustment the man’s eyes became watery and he began to see shadows. This was witnessed by the chiropractic students and the other people who were waiting to get adjusted.”

Although they lived in the homes of local residents while in Haiti, the group did include a stay at a 5-star resort hotel in the Dominican Republic. “They have more than 1,500 employees, with their own heliport, a harbor filled with yachts and the biggest waterfront Casino on the island, Morgan noted. “For the next trip, we’ve arranged for every employee to be checked and adjusted. It’s amazing that just a few miles away from this incredible beach front resort is a land of immense poverty.”

Before he’d even landed back in the US, Morgan was planning future missions.

“We’ve been tremendously blessed by God for being born in the USA and our greatest blessing of all is our gift of healing hands. What our chiropractic missionaries received from the experience in Haiti is beyond words. We went to Haiti and the Dominican Republic with one purpose, to give of ourselves. We’ll never forget this!”

World Chiropractic Alliance issues new mission statement

September 27, 2013 By WCA Staff

The Board of Directors of the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) has issued a revised mission statement that puts the emphasis on worldwide humanitarian efforts. “The new mission statement is a reflection of our desire to create an ever-expanding ripple effect of positive actions,” stated the organization’s founder and President Terry A. Rondberg, DC. “We want to support and assist individual doctors, the profession as a whole, and ultimately the world.”

Peter Morgan, DC, chairman of the WCA Council on Humanitarian Efforts, said the WCA was inspired by the work of organizations that bring chiropractic and related health care and aid to developing nations and underserved populations around the globe.

“We have seen the impact a group of dedicated and compassionate chiropractors can have,” he said. “Although the WCA has always supported those humanitarian missions, and promoted them in The Chiropractic Journal, we feel the time is right to step up our efforts and make this a major focus of the group.”

The World Chiropractic Alliance was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and strengthening chiropractic around the world. It is in a unique position to coordinate and support a variety of chiropractic missions since it is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) affiliated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. Timothy Merrick, DC, the WCA NGO representative, attends weekly briefings at the United Nations headquarters in New York and meets with other NGOs from around the world to share information about chiropractic.

“We have an opportunity to play a major role in addressing health concerns in developing nations as well as in first-world countries,” he explained. “We frequently see people in remote, poverty-stricken areas walking miles to get to a doctor of chiropractic who is visiting as part of a health care mission. They want chiropractic; they need chiropractic. And we all gain from the experience of serving others.

To initiate the new emphasis on service, the World Chiropractic Alliance has scheduled its first annual World Chiropractic Alliance Humanitarian Forum on Oct. 2, 2010 in Long Branch, NJ. Organizations involved in health mission — including Mission Life International, Mission-Chiropractic, Spinal Missions, ChiroMission, The “Best Mission Trip Ever”, and AdJust World — will attend the meeting to discuss how the WCA can assist in their work.

The WCA plans to provide scholarships to students wishing to participate in mission, provide other administrative and/or financial support to humanitarian groups, coordinate with NGOs in United Nations work, raise awareness of chiropractic charitable work through the global health care community, and provide information and resources to groups and individuals engaged in such work.

The new mission statement also reflects the organization’s continued commitment to supporting the chiropractic profession as a whole, and providing a wide range of resources to assist individual doctors of chiropractic.

The new mission statement of the World Chiropractic Alliance is to:

Develop, promote and support humanitarian programs that reach out to populations that, due to geographic or economic factors, cannot access chiropractic care
Support health and social measures that would benefit the underserved populations worldwide
Promote chiropractic as the only discipline that focuses on correcting subluxations and reducing the stress that interferes with the body’s ability to self-regulate and heal
Provide resources needed by doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic students to become more competent and successful practitioners

All doctors of chiropractic, chiropractic students, and chiropractic supporters are invited to join the WCA by visiting the WCA website at www.WorldChiropracticAlliance.org.

The World Chiropractic Alliance is an international professional association representing doctors of chiropractic, chiropractic students, and chiropractic patients. It’s four-fold mission is to develop, promote and support humanitarian programs that reach out to populations who, due to geographic or economic factors, cannot access chiropractic care; support health and social measures that would benefit the underserved populations worldwide; promote chiropractic as the only discipline that focuses on correcting subluxations and reducing the stress that interferes with the body’s ability to self-regulate and heal; and provide resources needed by doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic students to become more competent and successful practitioners.