The World Health Organization has said that almost half of the world’s population suffers from one form of neurological condition or the other, yet over 75 per cent of them cannot access care and treatment.
The WHO made this known in a new report titled, “Improving access to medicines for neurological disorders,” released on Monday to commemorate World Brain Day.
World Brain Day is observed on July 22 annually to promote awareness of neurological disorders that affect individuals worldwide.
According to the World Federation of Neurology, neurological disorders impact global health through conditions such as stroke, migraine, Alzheimer’s meningitis and epilepsy.
It noted that 90 per cent of strokes, 40 per cent of dementia cases and 30 per cent of epilepsies are preventable with effective preventive measures available for conditions like migraine, headache disorders and neurological infections.
The WHO further noted that neurological disorders are the leading cause of disability globally and access to essential medicines remained a global critical challenge.
The report further noted that there were wide disparities in access to treatment in low- and middle-income countries which had limited resources and underdeveloped healthcare systems.
It added that 75 people in low-income countries and 50 per cent in middle-income countries cannot access neurological treatment.
Commenting on the report, the WHO’s Director for the Department of Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use, Dévora Kestel, said that most people with neurological disorders struggled to access treatment due to the limited access to and cost of medicines.
She said, “The impact of neurological disorders can be significantly decreased and quality of life improved if people living with these disorders are provided access to the essential medicines they need.
“However, most people with neurological disorders struggle to access the treatment they need for their conditions because these medicines do not reach them or are too expensive.” The new report made use of epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease as tracer conditions to detect bottlenecks in access to existing treatments, especially in remote and rural areas.
It further stated that the challenges included the high cost of pharmaceutical products, inadequate awareness, insufficient healthcare infrastructure and lack of specialized training of healthcare providers impede the delivery of timely and effective care.
The report further emphasized the need for increased efforts to address the barriers.
The WHO advocated for more education about neurological disorders to reduce the stigma associated with such conditions.
It also recommended the integration of neurological treatments into the essential medicines lists of national authorities.
It urged local healthcare systems to budget for the procurement of the medications, calling on international donors and agencies to consider how to make treatments more affordable through donor-supported funding.
Also speaking about the report, a senior technical officer in the Medicines and Health Products Division, WHO, Christophe Rerat, said the report’s proposed actions to improve access to neurological medicines align with the WHO roadmap and provide a clear path forward.
“Actions proposed in this report have clear synergies with the WHO roadmap for access to medicines, vaccines, and other health products. With the proposed approach for neurological medicines, we have a robust set of actions and a clear way forward to improve access to these essential medicines,” he said.
Further commenting on the report, the Assistant Director-General, Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases at WHO, Dr Jérôme Salomon, said, “Concerted effort is needed by all stakeholders to achieve the global targets of the Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022-2031, including having 80 per cent of countries providing the essential medicines and basic technologies required to manage neurological disorders in primary care by 2031.” The WHO called for collaboration among governments, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and non-governmental organizations to improve access to essential medicines.
The health agency also advocated the introduction of innovative solutions such as differential pricing, generic drug production and telemedicine to help bridge the gap between patients and the treatment they require.
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS
