High prevalence of neurological diseases in Africa: Challenges and solutions

Around 43% of the population, or 3.4 billion people, live with a neurological disease worldwide. Why are rates highest in Africa, and how are nations tackling the issue?

The high prevalence of neurological diseases is having a devastating impact on local communities in Africa. “Mental health and neurological diseases are often misunderstood in Kenya,” said Penny Wangari-Jones, founding member of Hidden Voices, a Kenya-based mental health charity. “People are often taken to churches and prayed for or told they are possessed. Patients are often neglected, locked in houses or left to die in institutes. It’s harrowing.”

Neurological conditions are now the leading cause of ill-health worldwide, with around 3.4 billion people living with neurological conditions. However, neurological diseases disproportionately affect sub-Saharan Africa compared to other parts of the world.

Around 50% of people who go to the emergency room in Africa have some sort of neurological complication, and neurological disease rates are often double those in higher-income regions. The prevalence of epilepsy, for example, is two to three times higher in sub-Saharan Africa than in Europe.