Welcome

Jörg Heydecke provided some opening remarks to the International ME/CFS Conference 2026, hosted by the ME/CFS Research Foundation in cooperation with Charité Fatigue Center. More than 250 people from 17 different countries attended the third edition of this Conference on location in Berlin, joined by more than 6000 online viewers. The Conference was composed of more than 50 speakers and chairs from 10 countries, in addition to featuring more than 50 scientific poster contributions on location. Jörg Heydecke presented two projects by the Foundation, including a recent update of an earlier study on the prevalence and cost of Long COVID and ME/CFS in Germany. The new study points to an ongoing substantial societal burden caused by prevailing waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the population. Around 1.4 million people in Germany are currently living with Long COVID or ME/CFS, leading to a societal cost to the amount of 64 billion Euros annually. As such, the problem of these two diseases currently remains unresolved, necessitating more research and efforts on treatment development. Additionally, the Foundation recently initiated its first open call for funding for biomedical research proposals in Germany, receiving a total of 33 grant applications. Projects are currently being reviewed, with the selection expected from July onwards.