On 27 and 28 February 2026, ANDO Portugal, the National Association for Skeletal Dysplasias, held its 1st Regional Meeting in the Azores, hosted at the Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira (HSEIT) in Angra do Heroísmo. Under the theme “Skeletal Dysplasias — People, Rare Diseases and Insularity”, the two-day event brought together healthcare professionals, patients, families, and institutional representatives from the Azores archipelago, Madeira, and mainland Portugal, reinforcing the critical need for integrated care networks in geographically isolated regions. The meeting was held in hybrid format, with training sessions dedicated to healthcare professionals also transmitted via MS Teams, ensuring broader reach across the islands.
The first day was dedicated exclusively to healthcare professionals, featuring a semina. The programme included specialised assessment consultations, conducted both individually and in group settings, bringing together experts in orthopaedics, physical and rehabilitation medicine, paediatrics, rheumatology, medical genetics, and other specialties from both island hospitals and the mainland. Practical sessions centred on the presentation and discussion of paediatric and adult clinical cases provided a structured platform for multidisciplinary case review and knowledge exchange. The day closed with a forward-looking panel on the “Challenges and Opportunities of Multidisciplinarity in a Regional Context”, featuring clinicians from Terceira, Faial, and São Miguel islands, spotlighting the systemic complexities of delivering specialized care across the archipelago.
The second day opened with high-level institutional engagement, with welcoming remarks from the Regional Secretary of Health and Social Security, the Mayor of Angra do Heroísmo, and the Clinical Director of HSEIT, underscoring the political and institutional commitment to rare disease care in the region. The Rare Disease date was acknowledged and introduced to the participants. A key highlight was the dedicated session on ERN BOND, presented by Dr. André Travessa (ULSSM, Lisbon), raising awareness among regional clinicians and patients of the European Reference Network for Rare Bone Diseases and the pathways it offers for expert consultation, second opinions, and cross-border collaboration. Adults with skeletal dysplasia and family perspectives had a central space in the programme, sharing lived experience in navigating care in island contexts. The afternoon programme addressed a spectrum of unmet clinical and social needs. In these two days, we welcome more than 80 participants and the event was shown across multiple media channels, including tv and newspapers.
Funded by the European Union
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