Do not despise people with Epilepsy - Dr Adjei

Dr Patrick Adjei, an Epilogist and lecturer, University of Ghana, School of Medicine and Dentistry, has urged Ghanaians to support and encourage epileptics to live normal lives.

He said “Epilepsy once diagnosed can go away, do not despise people with epilepsy because epilepsy is not contagious as many have assumed.”

Dr Adjei made the observation in Accra on Monday, when Ghana joined the world to mark the celebration of International Epilepsy Day, on the theme “Epilepsy is more than Seizure: Yes I can.”

It was organised by the Mental Health Authority in collaboration with the International League Against Epilepsy and Epilepsy Society of Ghana.

Dr Adjei said epilepsy had nothing to do with witchcraft and spirits but comes about as a result of physical condition of the brain.

“Many individuals with epilepsy are perceived by the community as weak, inhuman, dangerous or inferior because of their symptoms, and as a result of the stigma, these people are excluded,” he said.

“But epilepsy is treatable and up to 70 per cent of the seizure can be cured and the risk of re-occurrence is about 25 per cent.”

He explained that currently there are 25 drugs for the cure of epilepsy and in Ghana, four of the most affordable are listed on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

He said the Mental Health Authority is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, World Health Organisation (WHO), and other stakeholders to add more of the drugs onto the NHIS to treat seizures.

International Epilepsy Day is a special event celebrated across 120 countries to raise awareness and educate the public about the facts and myths of epilepsy and the need to seek immediate medical assistance.

The International Epilepsy Day, which was celebrated on February 8, marked a year since the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Health Assembly passed a resolution on Epilepsy. The resolution called for global action to recognise and address the global burden of epilepsy.

The Day is a special event celebrated across 120 countries to raise awareness and educate the public about the facts and myths of epilepsy and the need to seek immediate medical assistance.