epilepsy

Epilepsy affects some 50 million people around the world and eight in 10 of these live in low to middle-income countries, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. In an interview with UN News’s Samuel Mungai, WHO’s Dr. Tarun Dua explains how to help sufferers and what the strategies are that are being put in place to reduce stigma faced by those with the condition.

Effective treatment for epilepsy can cost as little as US$5 per person a year, but more than 75 per cent of cases in developing countries go untreated.

That’s according to Dr Tarun Dua, an epilepsy expert from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Approximately 50 million people are living with epilepsy worldwide, a neurological disorder which often causes seizures.

A lack of trained specialists and medication in developing countries means many with the condition live without treatment.