New Delhi: In a move to mark a crucial initiative in advancing the World Health Organisation’s 10-year Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) on epilepsy from 2022 to 2031, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi will celebrate International Epilepsy Day on Wednesday, January 31.
As per a release, epilepsy day is being celebrated to emphasise the imperative to enhance public knowledge about epilepsy across all societal strata.
It further aims to encourage individuals living with epilepsy and their caregivers to share their journeys, offering insights into the global impact of epilepsy and fostering a collective understanding of effective care strategies.
“This #EpilepsyDay, we want to improve knowledge levels about epilepsy amongst all sectors of society by asking people with epilepsy and those who care for them to share their journey with epilepsy,” it said.
“Let’s learn from one another how we can effectively improve epilepsy care globally,” it further mentioned.
IGAP is a ten-year roadmap that contains a specific strategic objective to strengthen the public health approach to epilepsy and two global targets aiming to close the major treatment and inclusion gaps for people with epilepsy worldwide.
The two targets include Global target 5.1 which aims that by 2031, countries will have increased service coverage for epilepsy by 50 per cent from the current coverage in 2021 and secondly, and Global Target 5.2 that aims 80 per cent of countries will have developed or updated their legislation to promote and protect the human rights of people with epilepsy by 2031.
According to the release, one of the key barriers to achieving these epilepsy-specific global targets is the low levels of health literacy and the high levels of misunderstanding and misconceptions about epilepsy.
Such misconceptions perpetuate social stigma and marginalisation, resulting in discrimination against individuals with epilepsy in various spheres of life, including work, education, and community integration, it stated.
Lack of knowledge can also contribute to challenges in access to treatment due to misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment decisions, inadequate provision of care and insufficient support for people with epilepsy and those who care for them.
In fact, due to the stigma surrounding epilepsy, in many parts of the world, those affected will not come forward to seek care.
Additionally, lack of knowledge also hampers prioritisation of, and resource allocation, to epilepsy by our policy and decision-makers, and acknowledgement of the need for specific policies and programmes to address the burden of epilepsy, it added.
