The ANZMES AGM was held at 1pm on the 18th November 2023 via ZOOM online meeting.
This was ANZMES 43rd AGM of caring and supporting people with ME/CFS and their whanau and carers, as well as disseminating information, resources, and education to them, the general public, and medical professionals. ANZMES is looking at new initiatives as part of our strategic planning for the next year, and will continue to fund vital research that benefits the ME/CFS community as more physiological evidence is discovered and more understanding of the condition is brought to the fore.
Fiona Charlton (President) opened the AGM Meeting and the President’s report outlined some of ANZMES activities throughout the year.
Highlights included;
- This year we are proud to have launched a Grant and Scholarship Programme for postgraduate students and academic researchers. This will be an annual fund for ME/CFS and long COVID study. Two exciting projects are proceeding thanks to the ANZMES Grants of $25,000 each
- ANZMES launched Know M.E. Series for health professionals providing a monthly newsletter packed full of evidence-based information and research. The associated video podcasts are publicly available. This series is CME accredited by the Royal NZ College of GP’s, and ANZMES is a Registered Provider for continuing medical education. This series features a newsletter covering a different topic each month. Know M.E. also includes a podcast which is publicly available on Spotify, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts, and iTunes/Apple. The video version is publicly available on YouTube. Each month features special guest interviews speaking about M.E. topics.
- In May 2023 ANZMES launched two one-page resources for the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS and long COVID in primary care.
- In early November 2022 we held a long COVID educational event for health professionals. We had over 150 registrants, including GPs, nurses, nurse practitioners, clinic managers, med students, physiotherapists, OTs, and more. Our speakers talked about post exertional malaise and how to avoid it, described the similarities and differences between Long COVID and ME/CFS, how to diagnose both conditions, how to treat through allied health, and the effects of COVID and Long COVID in Māori and Pasifika communities.
- Dr Sarah Dalziel attending the the 3rd ME/CFS International Conference 2023: RID – Research Innovation and Discovery and provided a summary of the conference.
All present committee member’s have continued their term and were voted on for the upcoming year. The appointments are as follows:
President – Fiona Charlton
Vice President – Ange Robinson
Treasurer – Amy Ma
Reviewer – Alan Shanks
Executive committee – Anna Brooks, Suzanne Duffy, Wendy Matthews, Steve Murray, Gabby Shortt and Ros Vallings.
Heather Wilson who has been on the ANZMES committee for well over 20 years has now stepped down. A very, very special thanks go to Heather for her hard work and time spent on the committee and time spent helping people and their whanau, it is much appreciated. After the AGM was announced closed a presentation was played of Heather’s farewell which was held online and in person in Dunedin on Friday 3rd November 2023.
Dr Sarah Dalziel and Ken Jolly both continue as ex officio Medical Advisor’s to ANZMES. We would like to sincerely thank Sarah and Ken for their time and effort to help answer any queries we may have in the medical field.
Membership Fees for 2024 have remained unchanged, they are set at:
- $10.00 for Full membership
- $5.00 for Concessionary membership
- $5.00 for Family members
- A free Helping Hand option will be available for people who suffer severe financial hardship.
After the AGM had finished, Dr Sarah Dalziel gave a presentation on her attendance at the 3rd ME/CFS International Conference 2023: RID – Research Innovation and Discovery.
YouTube links to the AGM attached below
AGM 2023 – 1 of 3
AGM 2023 – 2 of 3
AGM 2033 – 3 of 3
