Online Reporter
By Dr Phyllis Kimani, MPharm
As global leaders gathered at this year’s World Health Assembly in Geneva last month to discuss the future of healthcare systems, equity, and universal access to care, one issue sat quietly in the background despite affecting millions worldwide: neurological health.
For many families living with epilepsy, especially across Africa and other underserved regions, the conversation around healthcare equity is not theoretical.
It is deeply personal. It is the mother travelling long distances in search of a neurologist.
The child whose seizures are mistaken for spiritual attacks rather than a medical condition. The caregiver quietly carrying emotional exhaustion while trying to navigate medication shortages, stigma, and uncertainty about the future.
During Epilepsy Awareness Week, these realities got far greater visibility. Epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people globally and remains one of the world’s most common neurological disorders. Yet despite advances in medicine and neuroscience, the treatment gap in many low- and middle-income countries remains alarmingly high.
One of the greatest challenges is that epilepsy remains profoundly misunderstood. In some communities, seizures are still associated with witchcraft, curses, or mental illness.
These misconceptions do more than fuel stigma — they delay diagnosis, isolate families, and prevent people from seeking medical care early. As a pharmacist and epilepsy advocate, I have become increasingly interested in the intersection between neurological health, health equity, and emerging therapies for treatment-resistant epilepsies. Over time, my work and interests have particularly focused on refractory epilepsies and sodium channel epilepsies, areas where families often face long diagnostic journeys and limited access to specialised care.
What strikes me most is how invisible many of these families remain within larger healthcare conversations. When discussions around innovation happen globally, they often centre around what is scientifically possible. But we must also ask another question: who actually gets access to that innovation? Across the world, there is growing research into precision medicine, genetics, neuromodulation, ketogenic therapies, and carefully regulated emerging treatments for severe epilepsies.
These scientific advances are incredibly important. However, innovation means very little if entire populations remain excluded because of geography, affordability, or weak healthcare infrastructure. That is why I believe epilepsy deserves a much stronger place within global public-health conversations. The World Health Assembly’s broaderfocus on strengthening healthcare systems and reducing inequities cannot succeed if neurological conditions continue to be overlooked.
Brain health is health. Neurological care is not a luxury. And people living with epilepsy deserve the same urgency, dignity, and visibility afforded to other major health conditions. But awareness alone is not enough. We need stronger education around epilepsy in schools and communities. We need earlier diagnosis pathways. We need investment in specialist services and neurological research within African healthcare systems. We need support structures for caregivers, whose emotional and financial burdens are often hidden from public view. Most importantly, we need to humanise epilepsy. Too often, discussions around epilepsy focus only on seizures. But epilepsy affects education, employment, mental health, social inclusion, and quality of life.
Behind every diagnosis is a person trying to live fully while navigating challenges many people never see. That is why advocacy matters. Advocacy creates conversations where silence once existed. It challenges myths. It helps families feel less alone. And sometimes, awareness itself becomes the first step toward earlier diagnosis, better care, and greater compassion. As healthcare systems continue evolving globally, my hope is that neurological conditions — particularly epilepsy in underserved communities — are no longer treated as peripheral conversations.
The future of healthcare equity must include brain health too. Because no one should be left behind simply because of where they live, what they can afford, or how complex their condition may be.
Dr. Phyllis Kimani is a pharmacist and epilepsy advocate with interests in refractory epilepsy, sodium channel epilepsies, caregiver advocacy, emerging therapies, and healthcare equity in underserved communities.
