{"id":4644,"date":"2026-07-17T10:38:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T10:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=4644"},"modified":"2026-07-17T10:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T10:38:56","slug":"kenya-takes-major-step-towards-awareness-of-neurological-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=4644","title":{"rendered":"Kenya Takes\u00a0Major Step Towards Awareness of Neurological Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenya Takes\u00a0<\/strong>Major Step Towards Awareness of Neurological Conditions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By News Desk\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/pre>\n
Ministry of Health and Aga Khan University\u2019s Brain and Mind Institute bring together national partners to translate research into national policy action.<\/em><\/p>\n
Naivasha, Kenya, 17 July 2026<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Aga Khan University’s Brain and Mind Institute (BMI) and Newcastle University, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, begin development of a national roadmap to tackle stigma surrounding neurological conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.<\/p>\n
The policy is expected to improve access to care and support for millions of people living with neurological conditions. With recent studies showing that up to 9% of Kenyan children experience neurodevelopmental disorders, while epilepsy alone accounts for nearly 40% of neurological DALYs in rural populations. The initiative brings together policymakers, researchers, healthcare professionals, advocacy organisations, caregivers and people with lived experience to co-develop a shared roadmap that will guide efforts to reduce stigma around neurological conditions.<\/p>\n
This is in line with Kenya\u2019s efforts to implement the World Health Organization’s Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders, which calls on countries to establish national awareness and advocacy programmes by 2031.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Health Director of the Division of Mental Health, Dr Mercy Karanja, said reducing stigma is fundamental to improving brain health in Kenya because fear of judgement often prevents people from accessing the care and support they need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ministry of Health remains unwavering in its commitment to ensuring that every citizen, including those living with mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders, receives the quality care they deserve. This is not just a health policy goal; it is a constitutional right under Article 43(1)(a) of our Constitution (2010). The creation of this roadmap encourages multisectoral collaboration, which is our only viable path toward ensuring people living with neurological conditions are understood, supported and able to access the care they need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The roadmap builds on findings from the British Academy-funded\u00a0Canvas for Change<\/em>\u00a0project, led by Aga Khan University’s Brain and Mind Institute in collaboration with Newcastle University. The project used participatory theatre, documentary storytelling and community dialogue to understand how stigma affects people living with neurological conditions across Kenya. These findings will help identify priority actions, define stakeholder responsibilities and provide a coordinated approach to improving awareness and inclusion across Kenya.<\/p>\n
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Neurological conditions are among the leading causes of disability worldwide, yet stigma remains one of the greatest barriers to early diagnosis, treatment and social inclusion. Many people continue to delay seeking care because of discrimination, myths and fear of being ostracised, making stigma reduction a critical public health priority.<\/p>\n
Aga Khan University Brain and Mind Institute Director Prof. Merali noted that bringing together researchers, government, healthcare professionals, communities and people with lived experience creates the best opportunity for evidence to influence decisions that improve lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch should not end in academic journals. Its greatest value is realised when it informs policy and improves people’s lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Since 2024, the Ministry of Health has led a series of national consultations under the World Health Organisation\u2019s Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders. Rather than starting a new conversation, the Naivasha meeting builds on priorities identified through those consultations. It combines them with fresh evidence from the\u00a0Canvas for Change<\/em>\u00a0project to develop a practical roadmap for implementation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stories we heard showed us that stigma can be as limiting as the condition itself. Seeing those experiences shape national policy is exactly what this project set out to achieve.\u201d Said Aga Khan University Brain and Mind Institute Implementation Scientist and\u00a0Canvas for Change<\/em>\u00a0Principal Investigator Dr Mary Bitta.<\/p>\n
Over the course of the meeting, participants are expected to agree on the roadmap\u2019s key priorities and establish the partnerships needed to drive implementation after review of the findings from the\u00a0Canvas for Change<\/em>\u00a0study and having heard from the different stakeholders present.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kenya Takes\u00a0Major Step Towards Awareness of Neurological Conditions By News Desk\u00a0 Ministry of Health and Aga Khan University\u2019s Brain and Mind Institute bring together national… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-corporate-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4647,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644\/revisions\/4647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}