What’s the fuss about the Medical Research Future Fund?
The question “What’s the fuss?” will ring out around Australia in weeks to come thanks to today’s launch of a new community-led campaign to promote the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and the importance of health and medical research to our nation’s future.
The television and online campaign features Carrie Bickmore, Ita Buttrose, Natasha Stott Despoja, and former Australians of the Year Sir Gustav Nossal, Professor Patrick McGorry and Simon McKeon, along with other community and business leaders, patients, and medical researchers from around Australia. They are all explaining “What’s the fuss?” about medical conditions such as dementia, cancer, heart disease, and mental illness.
Medical Research Future Fund Action Group Chair, Peter Scott, said these conditions and many more are certainly worthy of a fuss being made.
“As the television commercial says, the fuss is that Australian health and medical research provides hope for new discoveries leading to better diagnostics, treatments and potentially cures for these conditions and many more”, Mr Scott said.
“The MRFF is the substantial investment in health and medical research that Australia needs, and we are grateful that it is receiving the fuss it deserves thanks to many high profile people being very generous with their time in filming with us, simply because they care so much about improved funding for medical research.
“As a perpetual endowment fund, the MRFF will lead to many more medical discoveries and help us make our health system more effective and efficient by doubling the Australian Government’s annual outlays for health and medical research.
“The fuss is for all of us, for our future, and for the important role the MRFF will play in that.”
Mr Scott encouraged people to share their stories about the need for medical research through the What’s the fuss? website – www.whatsthefuss.org.au.
“Every day we hear stories about people suffering or dying prematurely with medical conditions that should be preventable or curable if we invest the money to conduct the necessary research,” Mr Scott said.
“We want our website to become a home for people to share stories about themselves and their loved ones, be they stories about how medical research has touched their lives, or stories about medical conditions where more research can make a difference.
“The economic arguments for health and medical research are abundant and compelling – whether you’re talking savings to our healthcare system or growing innovative industries and providing highly skilled jobs for Australians. But beyond economics, there are the people afflicted by disability and disease and their loved ones, such as our group’s founding chairman, Alastair Lucas, who died of brain cancer recently. For all of us, there is that priceless intangible that medical research provides: hope. Hope for a treatment and hope for a cure.”
Media enquiries: Jo Scard, 0457 725 953, jo@fiftyacres.com.
The What’s the fuss? campaign is coordinated by the Medical Research Future Fund Action Group, an alliance of peak bodies representing health and medical researchers and patient groups, along with community and business leaders who support health and medical research.
