WFN Press Releases

Africa currently experiences some of the most extreme shortages of neurologists and health care funding and some of the highest rates of disability due to neurological disorders in the world. Dr. Augustina Charway-Felli, president of the African Academy of Neurology, recently proposed a plan for addressing these disparities by emphasizing regional training to increase the number of neurologists throughout Africa and prioritizing education for primary care providers and non-specialists.

There is a growing call to embrace patient engagement in the world of health care, and Kathy Oliver, chair of the International Brain Tumour Alliance (IBTA), is one of many patient advocates at the vanguard of this movement around the world. Patient organizations like IBTA are increasingly at the forefront of patient engagement across various health care domains, including in the design of clinical trials, drug development, health care policy, pricing and reimbursement decisions, and regulatory issues.

One of the central challenges of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ALS research is finding ways to slow the progression of the relentlessly degenerative brain disease. Recently, based on results of the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, two experimental medications plan to move to phase 3 clinical trials. This means the drugs will now be tested on a larger sample population to confirm promising early results that showed they can slow the progression of ALS. Phase 3 trials are the last step before drugs are submitted for FDA approval. 

Neurological disorders are currently the second highest cause of death and the leading cause of disability worldwide. A groundbreaking new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study shows that the number of people living with brain disease is expected to double by 2050. 

Type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), a major diabetes complication, is now a leading cause of global disability. Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD, James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor and Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology at Michigan Medicine, shined a light on the growing global burden of DPN and revealed evidence that diet and lifestyle modifications can improve diabetic neuropathy at the 26th World Congress of Neurology. 

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of World Brain Day and WFN is partnering with the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation (WFNR). Registration is now open for the free 2023 World Brain Day webinar.

The World Federation of Neurology (WFN) is pleased to announce Brain Health and Disability as the theme for its 10th Annual World Brain Day (WBD) on Saturday, July 22. This year’s theme Brain Health and Disability will inspire a global initiative to close the gaps in disability awareness and reduce health care barriers that exist for individuals with neurological disabilities. When it comes to brain health, may we leave no one behind.

The World Federation of Neurology is pleased to announce the appointments of Prof Riadh Gouider and Prof Marco Tulio Medina as co-opted Trustees for a one-year term covering the period from October 2022 to the next Council of Delegates meeting in October 2023.

The WFN looks forward to hearing from any member neurological society in the African and Pan Arab regions that wish to be considered as the host of WCN 2027.

The adoption of IGAP results from years of work and consultations with WFN, other members of the Global Neurological Alliance, the WHO Secretariat and the Member States.