MS organisations believe MS is a preventable disease

Multiple sclerosis (MS) organisations from Australia, Canada, Italy, USA and UK and the MS International Federation now believe that MS is a preventable disease.

Logos of multiple sclerosis organizations: MS Canada, MS Research Advocacy Cure, MS Society, MS International Federation, and others.

Following a meeting held in Nice, France, in April 2026, we reaffirm our shared commitment to a world with no new cases of MS and to working collaboratively to advance MS prevention and ultra early detection as a critical global priority under the Global MS Prevention Initiative. 

We are now at a point where preventing MS is no longer aspirational, but a realistic goal. There is now clear alignment across the international MS community that prevention must be a priority. 

The Global MS Prevention Initiative builds on the Pathways to Cures Roadmap, which has helped define the areas of research with the greatest potential to stop MS, repair damage, and ultimately prevent it from occurring in the first place. 

It was also informed by the 2023 global landscape analysis, which showed that only around 8 per cent of MS research investment was focused on prevention. 

MS prevention represents one of the most complex, yet promising frontiers in MS research. Progress will require sustained international collaboration, scientific rigour, responsible communication, and meaningful engagement with people affected by MS and the broader health and research community. Recognising this, MS organisations came together under the Global MS Prevention Initiative for our second workshop in this space.  

Commitment to Ongoing Collaboration 

Under the Global MS Prevention Initiative, we commit to: 

  • Co-investing in research in identified priority areas that help to advance prevention and ultra-early detection of MS. 

  • Align resources, communication and activities to advance understanding of the prevention and early detection of MS. 

  • Explore opportunities for coordinated or complementary prevention‑focused research, advocacy and engagement activities. 

  • Ensure that prevention efforts align, where appropriate, with existing organisational strategies and the broader global MS research strategy, Pathways to Cures. 

Guiding Principles of the Global MS Prevention Initiative  

  • The importance of a clear and consistent conceptual framework for MS prevention, spanning risk identification, early detection and intervention. 

  • The need to integrate mechanistic research with population‑level, clinical and implementation perspectives. 

  • The central role of people affected by MS in informing prevention priorities, ethical considerations and communication approaches. 

  • Recognition that prevention efforts must consider equity, global applicability and variable health system contexts. 

  • The value of alignment and information sharing to reduce duplication, identify gaps and amplify collective impact. 

Towards a Global Scientific Strategy for MS Prevention 

The second Global MS Prevention Workshop was convened to support the development of a shared, scientifically grounded approach to MS prevention. The Global MS Prevention Initiative seeks to work together in areas where collaboration across MS organisations can add value and accelerate progress. 

This shared scientific map includes: 

  • Determining early markers of biological change in the development of MS at a mechanistic level to detect MS at the earliest possible stage. 

  • Understand the factors that lead to an increased risk of MS to enable us to characterise and identify people at high risk of developing MS. 

  • Preparing for and conducting intervention studies to evaluate ways to reduce risk and prevent clinical MS. 

As a global movement, these activities will be underpinned by international advocacy efforts in the public health space, a more detailed understanding of the health economics of preventing MS, and joint work with the relevant coalitions.  

Broader Stakeholder Engagement 

We recognise that meaningful progress in MS prevention cannot be achieved by MS organisations alone. We therefore commit to pursuing broad and inclusive stakeholder engagement, including: 

  • People affected by MS and those at increased risk, ensuring lived experience is meaningfully embedded in prevention efforts. 

  • Researchers, clinicians and public health experts across MS and related fields. 

  • Government agencies, policy makers and public and philanthropic research funders. 

  • Industry and technological partners. 

  • International research networks, global brain health and brain capital initiatives, allied disease communities, and other relevant partners, to strengthen prevention-focused research, innovation, and advocacy across neurological and public health agendas 

Future engagement will be guided by principles of transparency, inclusion, scientific integrity and responsible communication, ensuring that prevention‑related information is accurate, contextualised and does not cause unintended harm. 

Looking Ahead 

The second Global MS Prevention Workshop represents an important step toward a more coordinated global approach to MS prevention. By working together and drawing on our collective expertise, networks and perspectives, we aim to contribute meaningfully to the global effort prevent MS and ultimately realise our shared vision of a future with no new cases of MS. 

MS Organisations endorsing this statement on 30 May 2026: