A big year behind us. A bigger one ahead!
We are looking forward to a short break over Christmas after a very big year at MSA. But we will hit the decks running on January 3 as we gear up for what we hope will be an even bigger year ahead. This year’s 50th anniversary milestones include:
- Record $7m investment in MS research through our world-class research program
- A record $18m allocation from the Medical Research Future Fund for research into the Epstein-Barr virus
- Provision of timely advice on MS and COVID to the MS community through participation in the global MS and COVID expert group
- Launch of our ‘A Better NDIS for MS’ campaign
- Release of the landmark MS Nurse Care report
- Launch of our MS Research Roadshows across Australia
- Release of our major study into Vitamin D at the world’s largest MS research conference, ECTRIMS, in October
- Our first MS research conference since the beginning of the pandemic, held in Hobart with record attendance
- 50th anniversary event in Canberra with the Parliamentary Friends of MS and our patron, the Governor-General
Personal highlights included an address to the MS Nurses Australasia conference in Melbourne, meeting with our national MS advocates at a workshop in Canberra, a visit to our MS Australia Brain Bank in Sydney with Mrs Jenny Morrison, and meeting with two festive fundraisers, James Crowther and Ben Walker, lifelong friends who have been lighting up their houses for Christmas to raise money for MS for many years.
Of course, none of the above would have been possible without the incredible support of the MS community, our corporate sponsors, the May 50K participants and sponsors and our four hardworking and high-performing MS Member Organisations, MS Plus, MSWA, MSQ and MS SA/NT.
Looking ahead to 2023, our focus will remain tightly on supercharging MS research, advocacy, education and awareness. What are our goals for 2023?
- Pumping more money into MS research against our core research priorities – finding a cure through repair, prevention and better treatments
- Working towards better alignment of global MS research efforts under the Pathways to Cures roadmap
- Developing our proposed progressive MS clinical trials program, Platypus
- Launching a new report on MS prevalence and its economic impact
- Working closely with our Member Organisations to support the rollout of the 2023 May 50K
- Preparing a major submission to the government to support MS and other neurological research
- Engaging the National Disability Insurance Agency to improve access and equity for people with MS
- Renewing and reinvigorating our national MS advocates program
- Launching a new lived experience expert panel to inform and support the development of our policy positions and submissions to government
- Holding our national MS conference in late October
- Advocating to reverse the serious decline in the number of MS nurses
- Launching our ‘What is MS’ video
- Supporting the creation and funding by government of a long-overdue national neurological data set
From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your continuing and steadfast support.
With our very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year ahead.
