Election 2008
MS Society welcomes
election promise of $15 million for major study of neurological
diseases
During the federal election campaign, the Conservative Party
of Canada pledged to work with Canada’s major neurological
charities and to provide $15 million for a four-year study of
neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
 
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada applauds the promise
and the specific identification of multiple sclerosis as one
of the neurological diseases Prime Minister Stephen Harper intends
to include in this study.
“With
the re-election of a Conservative government on October 14, the
MS Society looks forward to working with the
federal government to ensure the study proceeds as soon as possible,” said
Yves Savoie, president and chief executive officer of the Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Canada. “People affected by MS and
by other diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord need
a comprehensive brain strategy, and this study will be a good
first step.”
The health, social and economic burden of brain disorders is
enormous, Mr. Savoie noted. A 2002 report by the World Bank,
the World Health Organization and Harvard School of Public Health
found that, when considered in terms of death and disability,
the current burden of brain disorders outweighs that of cancer
and cardiovascular conditions combined.
A Canadian population-based study of the extent and impact of
brain disorders is the first step in developing a comprehensive
national brain strategy – one that recognizes the unique
value of the human brain, considers the complexity and collective
impact of brain disorders (neurological and psychiatric) and
guides increased investments in research, universal access to
services and supports, access to the most effective medications
and treatments, and key economic issues including income security
and genetic discrimination.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada is a member of Neurological
Health Charities Canada (NHCC) that has been actively advocating
for a national brain strategy. NHCC is a collective of organizations
that represent people with chronic, often progressive, brain
diseases, disorders and injuries in Canada. For more information,
visit www.neurohealthcharities.ca or
read the NHCC
fact sheet at www.neurohealthcharities.ca/pdf/NHCC_FactSheet.pdf.
Multiple sclerosis affects an estimated 55,000 to 75,000 Canadians.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling
disease of the central nervous system — the brain and spinal
cord. Canada is a high risk area for the disease, which occurs
more often in countries, like Canada, that are further away from
the equator. While it is usually diagnosed between the ages of
15 to 40, during the career and family building years, it can
make its first appearance in young children and in older adults.
The MS Society is Canada’s foremost leader in MS research,
education and the provision of services to people with MS and
their families and caregivers. The MS Society also works with
people who have MS to ensure they have the opportunity to participate
fully in all aspects of life. It has seven division offices and
120 chapters across the country.
NHCC Members: ALS Society of Canada, Alzheimer Society of Canada,
Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation, Epilepsy Ontario,
Huntington Society of Canada, March of Dimes, Mood Disorders
Society of Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Muscular
Dystrophy Canada, NeuroScience Canada, Ontario Federation of
Cerebral Palsy, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, Parkinson Society
Canada, Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of Ontario,
Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada.
Note: The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
is a non-partisan health charity and provides information about
the election for the benefit of all who are interested in MS
issues. The MS Society of Canada does not support specific parties
or candidates.
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