Olympian and ME advocate Beth Dobbin has used her platform on Good Morning Britain to shine a spotlight on the realities of living with ME and the continued failures in how people with ME, and those with ME-like Long Covid, are supported across the UK.
During the programme, Beth spoke about the devastating impact of the disease and the urgent need for greater investment in research, better care and meaningful government action.
Beth previously wrote to Prime Minister Andy Burnham requesting a meeting to discuss the challenges facing people with ME. After receiving no response, her call for action has now been backed by 360 sports figures, who have united to demand greater recognition of the disease and increased research funding.
The letter calls on the Prime Minister to "level the playing field" for ME research funding and "give hope to the many affected that something is being done about this life-destroying, much-ignored illness and its spiralling impact".
It highlights the stark disparity in research investment. Between 2019 and 2024, UK government research funders committed just £6.6 million to ME research, compared with £79.1 million for Parkinson's disease and £496.4 million for dementia. Prior to this period, biomedical research funding for ME was almost non-existent. There are still no approved treatments for the disease.
Last week, Action for ME worked with ThereForME to co-produce a briefing on ME research for Beth and her family, helping to ensure the latest evidence informed the growing public conversation around the condition.
Appearing alongside Beth on Good Morning Britain, James Frith MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, highlighted the Government's commitment to ME through the Final Delivery Plan.
Responding, Action for ME Chief Executive Sonya Chowdhury said:
"While the Delivery Plan does not go anywhere near far enough for people with ME and ME-like Long Covid, we were pleased to see this initial commitment. However, the Government has failed to deliver its own Delivery Plan. Progress has been poor; communication about implementation has been poor; and this is simply not good enough.
We demand that action is taken, and taken now. People have waited for decades for change and the Government cannot continue to fail this community."
Action for ME continues to engage with parliamentarians and decision-makers across Westminster and the devolved nations to push for urgent action.
This week, Chief Executive Sonya Chowdhury met with Jo Platt MP, former Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on ME and now Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, as well as Mike Hedges MS, to discuss the need for improved support, investment and accountability.
In Wales, momentum is also building. Yesterday, Natasha Asghar MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care, raised Action for ME's concerns during a Senedd business statement. The Minister's response indicated that plans are being developed following recent discussions between Welsh Government ministers, Action for ME and Welsh ME groups.
Those discussions included a commitment to provide responses this month to requests made by patient organisations.
Beth Dobbin's willingness to speak publicly about the realities of ME, combined with the support of hundreds of high-profile sporting figures, has sent a clear message to Government: people with ME can no longer be ignored.
For too long, people with ME have faced a lack of research investment, limited clinical support and inadequate policy action. While awareness is growing, awareness alone is not enough. What is needed now is delivery, accountability and investment that matches the scale of the challenge.
Action for ME will continue to work alongside people with ME, campaign partners, researchers and parliamentarians to turn those commitments into reality.
