The World Federation of Neurology’s (WFN) 10th Anniversary of World Brain Day was celebrated on July 22, 2023 under the theme "Brain Health and Disability."
This year's World Brain Day campaign achieved remarkable success, engaging millions worldwide and uniting diverse groups, including organizations, individuals, patient advocates, and societies, to advance the cause of Brain Health and Disability. The global reach and impact of the campaign were evident as it resonated across all corners of the globe, emphasizing awareness, advocacy, support, prevention, and education. Notably, the participation in World Brain Day 2023 was impressive, with 743 individuals registering for the webinar from various parts of the world. The event also made significant waves on social media platforms, particularly Facebook, with over 4.4 million people reached and a substantial increase in profile visits and page likes.
The 10th Anniversary of World Brain Day in 2023 highlighted the importance of unity in promoting brain health and inclusivity for individuals with disabilities. The event's success demonstrated the power of global collaboration and advocacy in creating a lasting impact. WFN extends their gratitude to all participants who contributed to making this year's World Brain Day a resounding success.
This World Brain Day is framed by five key aims:
This initiative expanded awareness and helped illustrate the complexity of issues that individuals with disabilities often face and will emphasize the importance of prioritizing efforts to make the world more accessible and equitable for everyone. With the world's support, we can ensure we leave no one behind.
2023 Brain Health and Disability Webinar: Leave No One Behind [Press release]
Brain & Life® article Get Involved with World Brain Day to 1.5M print readers and on BrainandLife.org homepage
On the occasion of World Brain Day, the EAN are offering open access to Brain Health content on demand and on their eanCampus platform until the end of July.
EAN have also collected a selected list of materials dedicated to Brain Health.
https://asn.lk/world-brain-day ⧉
The Association of Sri Lankan Neurologists, together with partners—Epilepsy Association of Sri Lanka, National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka, Hemas Outreach Foundation, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Dialog Axiata, Health Promotion Bureau and the Roshan Mahanama Trust—celebrated the World Brain Day by organising a series of activities around the major topics: Stroke, Epilepsy, Traumatic brain injury, General brain health, and Living well Disability. These were identified to be the common conditions where we could have a significant impact on the neurological health of the community.
Download their report here to read more.
ArgentinaINFOBAE
Día Mundial del Cerebro: el desafío de desestigmatizar las enfermedades cerebrales y las discapacidades que generan - Infobae ⧉
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MexicoThe Mexico Government (Secretaria de Salud/ Ministry of Health) promoted the WBD in Mexico in the official website ⧉.
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The World Federaton for Neurorehabilitation organised a webinar and round table discussion on 22 July after the WFN webinar.
Topics covered included:
Access | Prof. Volker Hömberg, President, World Federation for Neurorehabilitation |
Awareness | Prof. David Dodick, Emeritus Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic and Co-Chair, World Brain Day |
Prevention | Prof. Tissa Wijeratne, Co-Chair, World Brain Day |
Advocacy | Prof. Alla Guekht, Trustee, World Federation of Neurology |
Education | Prof. Steven Lewis, Secretary General, World Federation of Neurology |
WFN Regional Association Presidents |
Dr. Carlayne E. Jackson Dr. Augustina Charway-Felli Prof. Hamidon Basri Prof. Paul Boon Prof. Marco Medina Prof. Hany Aref |
This World Brain Day will provide a vital opportunity to fight for the equality of people with disabilities on a global scale.
Through advocacy and policy changes, our collective voices will spark a worldwide movement for better health care access that will lift the global burden of brain disabilities.Prof. Tissa Wijeratne, World Brain Day Co-Chair.
When we all work together, we make significant strides toward achieving a better universal understanding of brain health, which can help us create a real difference for individuals living with disabilities.
We anticipate World Brain Day 2023 to be a step in the right direction.Prof. Grisold
Individuals with disabilities have so many odds stacked against them.
We selected this year's theme to bring attention to the large number of people suffering from neurological disability worldwide.Prof. Grisold, President of WFN
This is our chance to show up for people with disabilities that stem from neurological diseases and create a global effort to break down barriers that prevent them from achieving the highest possible standard of health that everyone deserves.
So many of these individuals face stigma, discrimination, lack of access to professional care and rehabilitation that can change their lives.David Dodick, MD, Emeritus Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic, and World Brain Day Co-Chair.
The Lancet Neurology
EDITORIAL| VOLUME 22, ISSUE 9, P769, SEPTEMBER 2023
DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(23)00236-3 ⧉
The theme of the tenth World Brain Day, held on July 22, 2023, was brain health and disability. World Brain Day has been organised annually since 2014 by the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) and this year was run jointly with the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation (WFNR); together, these organisations want to increase awareness and reduce barriers to health care for people with neurological disabilities.
Journal of the Neurological Sciences
EDITORIAL ARTICLE 2023, 120720, ISSN 0022-510X
Tissa Wijeratne, David W. Dodick, Steven L. Lewis, Alla Guekht, Ksenia Pochigaeva, Wolfgang Grisold
DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2023.120720 ⧉
Worldwide, the number of persons with disability is assumed to be around 1.3 billion. Although several definitions exist, such as the medical and social models, the social model has more holistic approaches and engulfs more aspects. Historically, many considerations were based on eugenics until the middle of the 20th century when a change of paradigm occurred, and disability has since been subject to many developments in the past decades.
Previously dependent on mercy and good will, disability has now become a human right, and the implementation of this change is still ongoing. Neurological diseases contribute worldwide to a large proportion of disability and can be classified as reversible or permanent, by their time course, and by disease specific elements. Addtionally, neurological diseases are often accepted and managed differently across cultures and are exposed to variable degrees of stigma.
The World Federation of Neurology (WFN) has initiated and continues to promote the concept of brain health, which has a wide range of inclusion and is best summarized in the World Health Organization paper (World Health Organization, 2022a). This concept is embedded in the Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) (World Health Organization, 2022a), which created a global tool to promote neurology, and the WFN is using this tool for the 2023 World Brain Day to promote and introduce the concept of disability.
Download the WBD Toolbox today for WBD Logos, poster, web banner, and presentation.
Also are suggestions for scheduled social media posts in multiple languages:
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