A farewell message from the outgoing WFN president and a welcome message from the incoming president.
With this final President’s Column for 2025, we will take a brief look back, update current activities, and finish with a peek into the future. This message is written by both the outgoing and incoming World Federation of Neurology (WFN) presidents to emphasize the need for continuity for the many WFN tasks and projects.
This continuity is important because the responsibilities of running the WFN include many ongoing activities and obligations. For example, the WFN has long-term committees that manage its congresses, Training Centers, and trainees. These committees also manage global activities with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (U.N. ECOSOC), as well as WFN grants, and the ongoing input of our staff.
Message From Prof. Wolfgang Grisold
Outgoing WFN President Prof. Wolfgang Grisold (left) and Incoming President Dr. Steven Lewis.
I joined the board of trustees at the 2009 World Congress of Neurology (WCN) in Thailand. Since then, I have held several positions, including trustee, secretary general-treasurer, and secretary general before serving as president from 2022 to 2025. My presidency was supported by the trustees, the committees, and the strong work of the WFN office staff.
During my tenure, many infrastructural issues were resolved, educational programs developed, and advocacy and leadership roles were added. We gained ground on global advocacy, including events such as World Brain Day and Brain Health as well as our joint work with the WHO and the U.N. The three stated goals on my application for the WFN presidency were communication, increasing the WFN’s status, and innovation.
We have reached a higher level in our publications, including journals, social media, and our website. See the WFN Essentials page for more information on the federation and its offerings.
The incoming president, Dr. Steven Lewis, has been actively involved in the WFN for more than 11 years and has been the secretary general since 2022. In this position, he is not only involved in the day-to-day business of the WFN, but in all major decisions. He has a strong interest in education and has chaired the Education Committee since 2014.These experiences and prerequisites will help guarantee a smooth “change of guard.”
Education
One of the important goals of the WFN — to promote education in Africa — was initiated by the late Prof. Johan Aarli. The next step was the implementation of the Training Centers and Department Visits in 2013. These Department Visits, education programs in Latin America, and initiation of education in Asia are ongoing WFN activities. These will need to be expanded, particularly in low-middle and low-income countries.
Training Centers and Department Visits are already standard procedures, but new concepts of teaching are needed. The core curriculum that was announced in 2022 and intended to be finalized within two years has stalled.
We wish to continue the successful Global Advocacy Leadership Program (GALP) created in partnership with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). This program aims to promote advocacy and leadership for low-middle and low-income countries. In 2025, there were 15 graduates out of 100 applicants. This task is important, and it shows the commitment of the AAN and the WFN. However, it comes with high costs that must be adapted for future viability. Another consideration is that traveling visas have become more difficult to acquire in recent years.
Global Activities
Neuro-politics has always been a WFN priority. Examples include the two editions of the WHO-WFN Neurology Atlas and WFN’s role as a nonstate actor of the WHO. We have now picked up the topics of Brain Health and the Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP), which is supported by the WFN. The WHO initiative is a welcome addition as it will help to implement neurology care in many countries that are in need.
The WFN’s engagement with the U.N. ECOSOC is still growing. Progress is being made in regard to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Bob Rae, past U.N. ECOSOC president and Canadian ambassador, sent a special message for World Brain Day 2025. I thank all participants of the office, all trustees, and everyone who continues to work on these important tasks. I especially want to thank Prof. Alla Guekht, past WFN trustee, and Ksenia Pochigaeva, WFN intern, who have contributed enormously to promoting these global contacts and activities.
World Brain Day is an effort to promote neurology worldwide for specific topics, but also for global brain health in general. Brain health has been selected by major regional societies, and a Lancet Commission on brain health has been established. These activities have been picked up and promoted by the WFN since 2012, and the issue of brain health appears in the WFN mission statement from that year.
Brain health was also used as an overarching topic for World Brain Day for the last four years. Topics for each year included:
- Brain Health (2022)
- Brain Health and Disability (2023)
- Brain Health Prevention (2024)
- Brain Health for All Ages (2025)
The 2025 World Brain Day was successful and helped grow the impact of the project worldwide. However, I believe the importance of disability and all tasks involved in managing disability still have not been sufficiently explored for individual neurological disease entities.
Another important event for neurology is the International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases (ICNMD). The congress, which will be held annually beginning in 2027, provides a wide range of education and discussion on the neuromuscular system. This includes motor neurons, neuropathies, neuromuscular transmission, and muscle diseases. The next meeting will be July 7-11 in Florence, Italy.
Publications
Publications and promotions are an important part of the WFN. The most impactful tool we have is World Neurology, edited by Dr. Steven Lewis and Dr. Walter Struhal. With a readership of about 25,000, it is an efficient tool to relay news. We also have a WFN service page appearing quarterly in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences (JNS). This page gives an extended view on select topics as well as articles from invited contributors.
The JNS is the flagship of our publications. It has earned a good impact factor and also creates revenue that allows the WFN to proceed with its manifold activities. I must thank Prof. John England and his team for their constant devotion to this journal. The eNeurological Sci (eNS), edited by Dr. Struhal, is gaining importance.
Congresses
WFN congresses, including the World Congress of Neurology, are important events for presenting educational programs and excellent lectures. They also feature new initiatives such as interactive sessions, coffee talks, and political sessions. Yet things are changing worldwide, and regional congresses, such as AAN and European Academy of Neurology (EAN) will only survive by holding large events.
The excellent programming and the important regional interest of the pharmaceutical industry attracts many constant sponsors. However, the WFN has witnessed a steady decline in participants. The successful hybrid component of Montreal in 2023 was not as successful in Seoul in 2025. Virtual attendance dwindled to 20%, with little interest from low-middle and low-income countries.
This means that the concept of regional congresses needs to be rethought. Smaller congresses might not survive due to structure and costs. Excessive costs come from travel, visas, and congress venues. The expenses of congress halls and additional aspects such as food and beverages are climbing to excessive amounts. The pharmaceutical industry does not seem interested in worldwide rotating meetings and prefers local sponsorship for their secured markets.
For the prior two WCNs — Montreal and Seoul — WFN has not gained any of the surplus funding that is needed to cover the excessive expense for the maintenance of the society and for all future projects. The WFN will need to rethink not only the timing, sequence, and regions, but also the structure and duration of future congresses.
Thanks to savings and economizing procedures, the total wealth of the WFN remained stable until the end of 2024. This will likely change in 2025 when the additional costs of the WCN will show. To sustain WFN activities, the trustees are evaluating international funding projects, which could fund some of our educational activities. This funding will apply not only to the present state but also expansion and increased services. This funding is prepared with great care, and we hope to be able to start the process in 2026.
Final Thoughts From Prof. Grisold
Interviews often end with the question, “What would you do if … ?” My answer typically is, “I would like to work miracles. However, miracles are miracles, and we have to work with what we have in the present situation.”
We are glad that we were able to maintain the high standards of the WFN that were achieved by my predecessors. We promoted and expanded educational activities, global advocacy and leadership efforts, and brought attention to brain health with World Brain Day.
I would like to leave you with these suggestions for the future of the WFN:
- Increase the pace of education and the number of training positions in Africa, Latin America, and the Pan-Arab region. Some of these need the full attention of the WFN.
- Look into professionalized funding and make funding an important synergy of the WFN while still remaining independent. This will help to invest further in educational projects. At the top of my list would be primary care, education and neurology, students, residents, and more CME programs.
- Rethink granting. If funds are available, this means that we need to expand from limited educational grants to scientific projects and grants that could be sponsored by the WFN.
- Seek a high impact factor on all official WFN publications.
- Promote young neurologists, appoint WFN neurology interns, and proceed with gender and equity efforts.
As past president, why did I not do all of these things during my tenure? The answer is, many things have been initiated and are ready to proceed. Continuity will show what more can be achieved. We look for the continuation of the independence of the WFN.
My final thought: My wish is for the end of war in all parts of the world. As we can see on Wikipedia, the number of armed conflicts is endless, and we usually only see what is happening either in our neighborhood or promoted by the press. Nevertheless, the neurological damage inflicted on all participants — those in combat and those in civilian society — is immense. The damage includes mental illness, neurologic diseases, and brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle injuries. It is my explicit wish that the WFN engage in help for victims of war and put many of these efforts on record as scientific evidence. •
Message From Incoming President Dr. Steven Lewis
Thank you to Prof. Wolfgang Grisold for the opportunity to introduce myself and briefly summarize my thoughts before he passes the torch to me Jan. 1, 2026.
I want to thank the WFN Council of Delegates for electing me to the role of WFN president. I also want to express my gratitude to Prof. Grisold for being such an effective leader as well as a mentor to me during his presidency. I thank him for the opportunity to work so closely with him and participate in many of the important discussions and decisions that have moved the WFN forward these past years. His remarkable devotion to the WFN and our member societies as well as his 24/7 indefatigability have inspired me and so many others who have had the privilege of working with him.
I also wish to extend my sincere appreciation and acknowledgement to Prof. William Carroll and Prof. Raad Shakir, previous WFN presidents, under whom I have been privileged to serve, and from whom I have learned so much. This is especially true with regard to their leadership skills, institutional knowledge, and wise counsel. Although I joined the WFN after Prof. Vladimir Hachinski’s tenure, I was privileged to have had many memorable interactions with him. In summary, I will be standing on the “shoulders of giants” as I begin this important role.
As I enter the WFN presidency, I pledge to continue and expand upon the work of Prof. Grisold and his predecessors with regard to neurologic education and training, global advocacy endeavors and partnerships (including our work with the WHO and the U.N. ECOSOC), publications, and our many other ongoing, growing, and novel activities. In performing this work, I will be a careful steward of the WFN’s finite financial and human resources and appropriately support our outstanding, hard-working, and highly qualified staff in our secretariat in London.
Collaborating with our six regional organizations and now 126 member societies, and in our specialty groups and committees, I will always keep equity (fairness), inclusion, and diversity at the top of mind. I will recognize important variations of opinion as all of us, as stakeholders, work to achieve our common goals of optimal brain health and access to the highest quality of neurology and neurological care globally.
I look forward to sharing more of my vision in the President’s Column in the first World Neurology issue of the New Year. •
