Nigeria, other sub-Saharan African countries suffer most from neurological diseases — NSNS

THE Nigerian Society of Neurological Sciences (NSNS) has said Nigeria, including other sub-Saharan African countries, suffer the most as a result of neurological diseases, which account for about a fifth of the world’s global burden of diseases.

The body declared that stigma in neuro-disability is a public health issue that has limited access for affected individuals to quality healthcare, especially in mental health and epilepsy.

NSNS, in a communiqué jointly signed by Professor Augustine Adeolu and Professor Chukwuemaka Eze, the association’s president and secretary, respectively, at the end of the association’s 56th annual scientific conference and general meeting in Abuja, therefore, called for the implementation of the Mental Health Law of 2022 and the Mental Health Policy to limit the stigma of neuro-disability.

The association declared that mental health should be incorporated into all levels of healthcare in Nigeria, while syndicated multisectorial collaborations, advocacy and awareness about stigma in neuro-disability should be promoted in the country.

“Nigerian neuroscientists should be open to the use and possible incorporation of alternative medical practices for holistic care of neurological disorders,” it said.

The association, while noting that headache is a common symptom of neurological diseases worldwide, said it has been sparingly studied in Nigeria and called for more work and networking in headache research.

It declared that only a few centres in Nigeria can offer comprehensive care for aneurysms, an abnormal out-pouching of the vessel that supplies blood to the brain that is a major cause of fatal brain bleeding and subsequently a severe headache, due to the limited number of experienced specialists and lack of equipment for diagnosis and treatment.

While noting that managing neurological disorders requires a holistic approach towards having happy patients who are well integrated into the society, the association called for improved funding for health and increased budgetary allocation for curbing neurological disorders in Nigeria.

“Expertise and facilities for non-invasive management of cerebral aneurysms and subarachnoid haemorrhages, specifically the provision of angiography suites with digital subtraction angiography capacities, need to be provided across the country. Neurovascular centres should be established across the country to provide comprehensive care for aneurysms of brain arteries,” the association concluded.

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