When 8-year-old Amir had his first seizure, his mother carried him to three clinics over six months before a diagnosis and one box of phenobarbital finally arrived. Stories like theirs are common: brilliant lives slowed by stigma, distance, and missing medicines.
Epilepsy affects about 50 million people worldwide, and with the right care up to 70 percent could live seizure-free — yet in many low-income settings as many as three out of four people receive no treatment at all. See the World Health Organization for these figures: WHO: Epilepsy fact sheet.
Why this matters now
Mental health and neurological care are linked. The WHO's World Mental Health Report (2022) and its press release noted that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by about 25 percent during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing fragile systems and deep treatment gaps: WHO press release. Integrating epilepsy care into primary care and mental health services is an urgent, evidence-based step forward; the WHO's mhGAP program outlines scalable interventions: WHO mhGAP.
People and organizations making change
Nonprofits are bridging gaps. The Epilepsy Foundation runs education and advocacy programs in the United States and supports families navigating diagnosis, while organizations like Partners In Health demonstrate how community health worker models can expand access in low-resource settings. Globally, WHO partners with local groups to scale epilepsy care and reduce stigma: WHO epilepsy programme.
Barriers are not only clinical: fear, lost wages, and isolation stop people from seeking care. That isolation is life-changing; families told researchers they avoided schools and work for years because seizures were misunderstood.
- What works: training primary care providers, affordable essential medicines, community education, and economic supports that build self-reliance.
- Evidence-based entry points: integrate epilepsy and mental health into primary care using WHO guidance; invest in community health workers to reach rural households.
- Individual actions: learn the facts, support trusted nonprofits, and demand that local health systems include mental health and neurological care in basic services.
"When a health worker came to our village and explained seizures as a medical condition, my son could go back to school. It changed everything for us," says a caregiver supported by a community program.
There is cause for hope. Proven, affordable treatments exist, and models that combine medical care with social support restore dignity and independence. If you can, support organizations working at the intersection of epilepsy, mental health, and community care: donate, volunteer, share accurate information, or write to policymakers asking for integrated services in primary care. For starting points, see the Epilepsy Foundation and Partners In Health links above.
Amir's story shows how simple, sustained support — a reliable medicine supply, a trained primary care worker, and community understanding — turns fear into possibility. We can scale that change by acting together.
