The Societal Impact of Pain (SIP) platform is pleased to announce the evolution of its Stakeholder Forum into the SIP Policy Forum, marking a more focused and strategic phase of collaboration on European health policy.
Across Europe, an estimated 150 million people live with chronic pain, making it one of the most prevalent and burdensome health conditions. It is the leading cause of disability and a major driver of reduced quality of life, with significant socio-economic consequences, including work disability and sickness absence. Despite this, pain remains substantially underfunded in research and continues to be underprioritised in health policy discussions.
Against this background, SIP established the Stakeholder Forum in 2021 as a voluntary platform for exchange among organisations engaged in pain policy. Over time, and in response to the evolving EU policy landscape, the Forum has developed a stronger focus on structured policy dialogue and alignment with the broader European health agenda.
This evolution is now formalised through the SIP Policy Forum Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which sets out a strengthened framework for collaboration among European stakeholders, including healthcare professional organisations, scientific societies, patient organisations and civil society actors.
Participation remains voluntary and flexible, with engagement opportunities including an annual policy meeting, bilateral exchanges, ad-hoc policy input, and contributions through SIP communications channels.
The Forum also ensures strong alignment with SIP National Platforms, facilitating a structured exchange between European-level and national perspectives.
Read more here.
If you would like to join the SIP PF feel free to each out to us at sip@efic.org.