A new correspondence in The Lancet Neurology1 highlights that neurological disorders are now the leading cause of poor health and disability globally, affecting more than 3 billion people and causing over 11 million deaths each year, according to evidence tied to the WHO Global Status Report on Neurology 2025 and related data.
The report ⧉, published by the World Health Organization under the Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders (IGAP), provides the first comprehensive global assessment of countries’ responses, establishing baseline values to track progress toward ten global targets by 2031. It underscores deep inequities in care: only 102 of 194 Member States contributed data, just 63 include neurological disorders in national health policies, only 34 allocate dedicated funding, and only 49 cover them within universal health coverage packages. Workforce shortages are severe, with low-income countries reporting up to 82 times fewer neurologists per population than high-income countries.
The report calls for urgent, coordinated global action to prioritise neurological care, expand access, strengthen prevention and brain health promotion, and improve data systems to reduce the mounting burden of neurological disorders worldwide.
Read in The Lancet Neurology ⧉
- A global call to strengthen neurological care for all ⧉
Winter, Sebastian F et al.
The Lancet Neurology, Volume 25, Issue 1, 31
Source: The Lancet Neurology
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