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Peter Morgan named WCA NGO liaison

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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

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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.