About Us

ILAE-Africa is an arm of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), coordinating the organization's work in the continent to reduce the scourge of epilepsy in Africa at large. It is made up of local chapters in the various countries in the continent helping in epilepsy care. We work in relation with doctors that are specalists in this field in different parts of the continent. For a start, we have made a tremendous achievement in chapters like Cameroon, Ghana, Libya, Somalia and Burundi.

History

The official inaugural meeting of the African Commission of ILAE (now ILAE-Africa) took place in Dakar, Senegal from 19 - 20 November 2010. The ILAE delegation was led by Prof Solomon "Nico" Moshe (USA) and Prof Emilio Perucca (Canada). Observers invited were:

• Prof Alfred Njamnshi, President of Pan African Association of Neurological Sceinces (Cameroon)
• Prof Pierre-Marie Preux, Tropical Neurological Institute of Limoges (France)
• Dr Anthony Zimba, IBE Africa Commission (Zambia)

Goals

1. Promotion of epilepsy awareness
2. Improving access to epilepsy care
3. Conduct training in epilepsy and strengthen the education activities of ILAE-Africa
4. Foster epilepsy research in the region
5. Multiply ILAE membership in the region

Regional challenges to epilepsy care 

1. Highest incidence and prevalence of active epilepsy compared to that of all other continents
2. High levels of stigma and low community awareness of epilepsy
3. Lack of basic infrastructure for adequate management
4. Large epilepsy treatment gap estimated at over 80%
5. Lack of established standardized treatment guidelines for epilepsy and weak referral systems
6. Limited human resource trained to take care of people with epilepsy
7. Poor linkage between governments, regional and national epilepsy associations, and funding agencies in supporting epilepsy work