SIP Portugal marked the Portuguese National Day Against Pain with a series of impactful awareness-raising activities throughout October. In Portugal, the Dia Nacional de Luta Contra a Dor takes place annually on the third Friday of October (this year on 17 October) and SIP Portugal led several initiatives aimed at reinforcing the importance of recognising chronic pain as a national health priority and promoting fairer and more structured public policies.
Throughout the commemorative week, SIP Portugal engaged in both national and European-level activities, combining in-person actions with a strong social media campaign.
At the European level, SIP Portugal was represented by two delegates at the SIP Meetings from 15–16 October, which included the Advocacy Toolkit Training at the European Pain Federation EFIC office, followed by the session “From Burden to Prevention: Reframing Chronic Pain in EU Health Policy” at the European Parliament. These activities brought together representatives from national SIP platforms across Europe to advance discussions on EU pain policy and prevention strategies.
Locally, SIP Portugal was present at the Local Health Unit (ULS) Santo António in Porto and at the National Meeting of Pain Units in Braga, organised annually by the Portuguese Association for the Study of Pain (APED), on 17 and 18 October. These events provided a valuable opportunity to present the SIP Portugal platform and mission to healthcare professionals and national stakeholders.
Since early October, SIP Portugal has been running a social media campaign titled “United for Change – Together we Give Voice to Those Living with Chronic Pain”, published on
📍 Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/sip.pt.pt/
📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sip.portugal
📍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sip-pt/
The campaign highlights the social, economic and personal impact of chronic pain, a condition affecting approximately 37% of the adult population in Portugal and encourages public engagement around this often invisible health challenge.
To expand reach, SIP Portugal issued a national press release and has been actively collaborating with media outlets, including participation in a television programme on Porto Canal, raising awareness of chronic pain and advocating for more inclusive health and labour policies.
Strengthening health literacy remains a priority. In parallel, the platform launched a partnership with the national digital newspaper Observador for a six-month editorial series dedicated entirely to pain. This initiative will feature articles, interviews, testimonials and podcasts, amplifying the voices of healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers.
Over the past year, SIP Portugal has been engaging with key political institutions to advocate for the inclusion of chronic pain in the national political agenda. A meeting with the Secretary of State for Health is planned to discuss structural reforms and the recognition of chronic pain as a chronic disease in Portugal.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate SIP Portugal’s ongoing commitment to improving health literacy, increasing the visibility of chronic pain, and driving positive change in public health policy, both in Portugal and at the European level.