DC SPOTLIGHT forth by any other body,” Stewart says, adding this will be a main focus of his presidency at WFC. Being able to help solve this global health-care crisis is more than just an opportunity for professional growth, however. Stewart says it’s a “moral responsibility.” “We have the ability to change the way the world is dealing with their health care. It’s cost effective, it’s drug-less, it has unlimited possibilities to help improve the health of the world and decrease this burden of disability worldwide.” But the work the WFC is doing to engage the international health com-munity needs the support of chiroprac-tors, not just in Canada but also around the world, he adds. Established in 1988, WFC represents national associations of chiropractors in 88 countries in the international community. It has official relations with the WHO and is a member of the Council of International Organizations of Medical Sciences, among other in-ternational affiliations. PROFILE Unprecedented I WFC president Dr. Greg Stewart talks about global opportunities, collaboration and the chiropractic values Those open doors come in the form of a growing urgency to address mus-culoskeletal health issues that continue to affect most of the world’s popula-tion. In fact, a 2012 Global Burden of Disease report essentially cites back pain as the number one cause of disa-bility in the world. Spinal disorders are now a greater contributor to the bur-den of disease than HIV/AIDS, ma-laria, stroke, lung and breast cancer, and diabetes. The World Health Organization has acknowledged the need for leadership in this global health crisis. Stewart and his colleagues at WFC believe chiro-practic is well positioned to lead in this area. “Right now … there is no leadership, there is no solution that is brought CommUniTy seRviCe by mARI-leN De guzmAN mARI-leN De guzmAN is the editor of Canadian Chiropractor magazine. Email her at [email protected]. 22 Canadian Chiropractor December 2014 www.canadianchiropractor.ca Photo: Mari-Len De Guzman f there is one thing Dr. Greg Stew-art is most excited about in his new role as president of the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC), it is the opportunity to help advance the chiropractic profession as an equal player in the global health-care arena, helping solve some of the world’s most pressing health issues. There has never been a better time to push the envelope and establish chiropractors as spinal health care experts, and Stewart intends to work towards this objective. “The opportunities have never been better. It’s a matter of whether we have the courage to walk through the doors that are open,” says the Winni-peg-based veteran chiropractor. Advocating for the chiropractic profes-sion has always been part of Stewart’s career. For the past 28 years he has managed a good balance between his full-time practice and serving his pro-fessional community. Since 1990, Stewart has served in numerous chiropractic committees in the provincial and national associa-tions. He became the president of the Manitoba Chiropractors’ Association in 1994, serving a three-year term. His desire to make a difference in his pro-fession took his journey to the national level, serving as president of the Ca-nadian Chiropractic Association in 2002. Stewart is also not new to the international scene, representing Can-ada and North America on the council of the World Federation of Chiroprac-tic (WFC) since 2006. He recalls his first involvement with the international body was during consultations regarding the “identity” of the chiropractic profession. He was there representing the CCA. After an extensive, year-long pro-cess, a broadly accepted resolution was instituted which essentially iden-tified chiropractors as spinal care
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor December 2014: Page 22
