Jordan Times
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Queen Rania awarded for her fight against osteoporosis
AMMAN (Agencies ) — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Friday received a life achievement award for her fight against osteoporosis during a special ceremony at the Italian parliament.
Queen Rania, designated ambassador of the French-based International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) in November 1999, got the award for her “international patronage of the IOF and for her voluntary work for the international cause of osteoporosis.
She was presented the award, a sculpture, during a ceremony at the Italian parliament in Rome by a group of senior government officials, including Italian Health Minister Girolamo Sirchia.
IOF President Pierre Delmas expressed his “pride that our patron was given this award.”
“Since she joined us in 1999, millions of people have become informed about how they can prevent, diagnose and treat `the silent epidemic',” Delmas said.
Queen Rania's “contribution to raising awareness about the disease has been invaluable,” he added.
Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease also known as “brittle bone disease” which affects one in three women worldwide and as many men, according to the IOF.
Previous winners of the Italian government-sponsored award include the late Dr Christian Barnard and Nobel Prize laureate Rita Levi Montalcini.
Queen Rania chaired an international seminar on the disease in Jordan on October 1.
While in Rome, the Queen also paid a visit to the city's Islamic Cultural Centre which was established in 1989, and was briefed on its activities by the chairman of the centre's council, Mohammad Ben Nawaf Ben Abdul Aziz, and its members.