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ABOUT US

We are a nonprofit development organization dedicated to strengthening care of the injured in over 30 low- and middle-income countries.

AO Alliance: Tailored solutions for better care of the injured

WE VALUE: PARTNERSHIP · EMPOWERMENT · SUSTAINABILITY

The AO Alliance is a nonprofit development organization dedicated to strengthening care of the injured in over 30 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia. Our mission is to reduce human suffering, disability, and poverty by implementing programs that enhance local fracture-care capacity for a sustainable impact. We are one of the most ambitious expressions so far of a determination to reduce musculoskeletal trauma-related morbidity and mortality in LMICs. We accomplish this by investing in local capacity and fostering best practices in patient care and by advocating for injuries to become a global public health priority. In addition, we develop national trauma plans to facilitate the adoption and implementation of critical policies by health authorities.

Vision

We envision a world where timely and appropriate fracture care is accessible to everyone.

Mission

Our mission is to reduce human suffering, disability, and poverty by implementing programs that enhance local fracture care capacity for sustainable impact.

OUR STORY

We are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Goal 3

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

We develop and train healthcare workers in LMICs.

Goal 4

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

We deliver in-person and online fracture care training to healthcare workers in LMICs.

Goal 5

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

We are working to address the low representation of female trauma and orthopedic surgeons.

Goal 10

Reduce inequality within and among countries.

We develop fracture care programs in rural impoverished areas in LMICs.

Goal 17

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

We partner to scale fracture care solutions and trauma services in LMICs.

Our key principle is investment in local capacity – empowering surgeons and other healthcare workers in their own countries by providing a framework for them to practice their specialty and improve their skills.

Whether you are making a small contribution or partnering with us at a larger scale, we are committed to transparency. La Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) – the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company – oversees our major undertakings, ensuring accountability to our stakeholders.

OUR ROOTS

The road to greater engagement with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

BUILDING ON A SWISS TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN FRACTURE CARE SINCE 1958

The AO Alliance is one of the most ambitious initiatives determined to reduce orthopedic injury-related morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We accomplish this by teaching and supporting best practices in patient care and promoting the uptake of appropriate trauma and orthopedic nonoperative and operative principles.

1958
1999
2015
1958
1999
2015
1958
AO Foundation
The AO (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen – Association for the Study of Internal Fixation) was created in 1958 by 13 Swiss surgeons. Having experienced firsthand the benefits of internal fixation of fractures using implants, they set out to promote the study of this relatively new branch of surgery and spread the news to others by teaching principles of operative fracture treatment. Since its early days, the AO has been outward-looking, establishing reciprocal contacts with centers of excellence in Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and disseminating information to surgeons, trainees, and nurses throughout the world.
1999
AO SEC
The AO Socio-Economic Committee (AO SEC) was set up to respond to the need for fracture care education in LMICs. For over 15 years, it played a major role in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia Pacific and in Latin America. Fellowships, targeted courses, and lectures from visiting surgeons and mostly local faculty were offered to healthcare workers in LMICs to raise fracture care standards.
2015
AO Alliance
While AO SEC fracture care education and fellowships continued to expand, it became clear that the need to improve care of the injured in LMICs required a more focused approach. The AO Alliance was created as a separate legal entity from the AO, taking over activities of AO SEC. Eleven Founding Fathers of the AO Alliance signed into being this new organization: Chris Colton, John Croser, Paul Demmer, Norbert Haas, James Hughes, James Kellam, René Marti, Peter Matter, Joseph Schatzker, Chris van der Werken, and Hansjörg Wyss. The AO Alliance began operations in January 2015 and is now a catalyst in knowledge development and transfer for trauma and orthopedic care in LMICs.
1958
AO Foundation
The AO (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen – Association for the Study of Internal Fixation) was created in 1958 by 13 Swiss surgeons. Having experienced firsthand the benefits of internal fixation of fractures using implants, they set out to promote the study of this relatively new branch of surgery and spread the news to others by teaching principles of operative fracture treatment. Since its early days, the AO has been outward-looking, establishing reciprocal contacts with centers of excellence in Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and disseminating information to surgeons, trainees, and nurses throughout the world.
1999
AO SEC
The AO Socio-Economic Committee (AO SEC) was set up to respond to the need for fracture care education in LMICs. For over 15 years, it played a major role in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia Pacific and in Latin America. Fellowships, targeted courses, and lectures from visiting surgeons and mostly local faculty were offered to healthcare workers in LMICs to raise fracture care standards.
2015
AO Alliance
While AO SEC fracture care education and fellowships continued to expand, it became clear that the need to improve care of the injured in LMICs required a more focused approach. The AO Alliance was created as a separate legal entity from the AO, taking over activities of AO SEC. Eleven Founding Fathers of the AO Alliance signed into being this new organization: Chris Colton, John Croser, Paul Demmer, Norbert Haas, James Hughes, James Kellam, René Marti, Peter Matter, Joseph Schatzker, Chris van der Werken, and Hansjörg Wyss. The AO Alliance began operations in January 2015 and is now a catalyst in knowledge development and transfer for trauma and orthopedic care in LMICs.
TEAM

Our team has a shared, genuine desire to change lives.

OUR PEOPLE
ALLIANCES

Partnering to strengthen care of the injured.

OUR PARTNERS