There are a lot of moving pieces to keep track of as we push for our U.S. federal agencies to provide fair and adequate treatment to people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Together, our community continues to take action to fight for our lives, and we’re seeing the fruits of that labor. At the NIH, we’ve
Mary Gelpi first published this post on her blog, 25 Pills a Day. Mary launched a petition asking the director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, to increase funding to 100 million annually for ME/CFS. She just sent a large box containing the petition and 50,000 signatures to Francis Collins. The box
When it rains, it pours! There has been so much activity in our US health institutions that it’s easy to lose track. Here’s a handy update to help us all keep it straight. HHS (Health and Human Services) The HHS recently and without warning shut down CFSAC, the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee. While flawed,
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has formed a new council focused on how best to advance research into myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The committee, called the NANDS Council Working Group for ME/CFS Research, will be comprised of scientists, clinicians, representatives from advocacy organizations, and individuals with ME, including a representative from
The persistent dedication of our community to fight for our lives continues to yield results. We are pleased to announce #MEAction has secured a meeting with Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to discuss the demands our community sent to him in a letter this past May. We are working
Following the global day of action on May 12, 2018, #MEAction gathered photos and petition signatures from people all over the world and mailed it to Director of the NIH, Francis Collins (see letter). Along with your beautiful photos and anecdotes, we delivered a list of demands, including a meeting with #MEAction. We also asked
Dr Ron Davis and his team at the Stanford Genome Technology Center have received a large research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will fund research for 5 years at $500,000 a year and will involve 15 collaborators, 9 of which have never worked in the ME/CFS field before. The research will focus on
An anonymous testimony given before the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC), which met last week for its bi-annual meeting to discuss recommendations to make to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on issues related to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome. *Note, an anonymous person gave this testimony. #MEAction has published it but did not
We applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for its support to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Last week, the House Appropriations Committee released its draft funding bill that raises spending for the NIH by $1.25 billion (3 percent) to $38.3 billion in 2019. Year-by-year, the NIH budget increases, and, year-by-year, the NIH fails to address
You showed up for #MillionsMissing, now is the time to show up before our federal agencies to demand that they take urgent and strategic action for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) will hold its bi-annual meeting on June 20th and 21st, and we need to fill up the time
