ME/CFS National Appeal

ME/CFS in Australia

ME/CFS Australia needs your help to continue vital work for the community. As many as 100,000 Australians are directly affected by ME/CFS; it can cause significant disruption to normal patterns of work, study and family life. Forty per cent drop out of the workforce entirely. The estimate 25% who are severely affected need complex care, and their condition can be life-threatening.

ME/CFS is poorly understood and less than 20 per cent of patients are correctly diagnosed. There is an urgent need for healthcare provider education and for a systematic approach by Government to address ME/CFS research and treatment.

With your support we can give people with ME/CFS the best chance of completing their education and/or returning to employment and a 'normal' life.

The role of ME/CFS Australia

ME/CFS Australia's role spans the following:

• communicating with medical and health professionals, federal politicians, service organisations and the media to improve awareness and knowledge of ME/CFS;
• providing a consumer perspective on issues affecting people with ME/CFS;
• responding to enquiries about ME/CFS from national/international organisations and federal government agencies;
• supporting research into ME/CFS through the Alison Hunter Memorial Foundation - http://www.ahmf.org ;
• summarising and distributing information to the broad community about ME/CFS and its treatment/management; and
• supporting state societies in the delivery of support services to people affected by ME/CFS.

  Key Areas of Expenditure

  Promoting of the "Canadian Clinical Guidelines" as the best-practice description of and treatment plan for ME/CFS.
  Advocating for the best possible healthcare and equitable access to the healthcare system for people with ME/CFS;
  Increasing awareness and knowledge of ME/CFS amongst medical and health professionals, federal politicians, service organisations and the general community;
• Promoting medical research, in particular research into the cases, diagnosis and treatment of ME/CFS;
• Promoting social research, such as the study of the impact of ME/CFS on people's lives, beginning with a high-level health impact study.