This year marks MS Australia’s 50th year, and what a roller coaster we’re on. Following our representations, the Federal Budget in March saw a record $18m allocated by the Australian Government for MS research. This followed $4m allocated in December. From the Budget we went straight into our Progress in MS Research conference in Hobart. Though delayed by COVID, the conference was worth the wait, with record attendance and a jam-packed agenda showcasing the astounding research underway in Australia and overseas. The launch of our MS Nurses report gained a lot of media attention, and rightly so. Two years in the making, the report – prepared with the Menzies Institute for Medical Research and in collaboration with MS Nurses Australasia – provides hard evidence of the extraordinary health, social and economic benefits that can be achieved when people with MS have access to an MS nurse. But too many are missing out and the MS workforce is in decline. We need 50 more MS nurses across Australia – and we will work hard to get the government funding needed to make that happen. And now we are in the midst of a federal election, with our advocacy focussing on research, the NDIS and MS nurses. On top of all that, we are also focussed on our major fundraising event for the year, the iconic May 50K. I’m pleased to report that as part of my contribution, I have run my first ever marathon. It was slow. It was painful. But I did it. And I did it for my cousin, Claire, who is living with primary progressive MS, and my niece’s partner, Jo, who has relapsing remitting MS (picture above). I have – at long last – been able to visit them both this month. It gives me great joy to hear that they are living well, thanks to great care, support and access to life-changing medications, all possible by research and advocacy fuelled by the donations of a kind and caring community.
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