By Jessi Arita and Marco T. Medina, FAAN, FEAN
MARCO T. MEDINA
Latin America joined the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) and the Pan-American Federation of Neurological Societies (PAFNS) on the celebration of the World Brain Day 2022, which took place every July 22, with the purpose of sharing information and optimizing brain health, creating awareness on the prevalence of brain disorders, and reducing the global burden of neurological disorders.
The World Brain Day was promoted through webinars, social media posts, graphics, and journalistic articles about the proclamation of the World Brain Day, promotion of brain health, and functions of the brain.
México, Cuba, Honduras, Perú, Argentina, and Uruguay, among other countries, as well as academic institutions such as the National University of Córdoba, Argentina, and National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), Honduras, contributed in creating attention on non-communicable neurological diseases, that according to the Brain Health Initiative WFN, represent 6.3% of all global disability, including stroke, migraine, tension-type headache, Alzheimer´s disease, dementia, Parkinson´s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and motor-neuron diseases.
The faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Córdoba remembered the day as a chance to carry out campaigns so that society is aware of brain disease and on how the WFN took the initiative to give importance to brain health.
The official newspaper of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), Presencia Universitaria, through the article “UNAH and PAFNS invite to the World Brain Day,” motivated the university community to the World Brain Day and to the webinar “Brain Health for All,” featuring Prof. Wolfgang Grisold, WFN president, Prof. David Dodick, WFN co-chair, Prof. Tissa Wijeratne, WFN co-chair, and Dr. Tarun Dua, medical officer of the Brain Health Unit, the World Health Organization.
It encouraged the sharing of WFN posts, messages, and videos with friends and colleagues; partnering with local neurological societies and organizations to promote such activities, and the use of free educational resources to lead World Brain Day campaigns.
Likewise, the newspaper socialized that through the editorial “Brain health as a global priority,” view from WHO: Editorial from the World Federation of Neurology in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences, the WFN shared support for the concepts that the brain is the mediator of all human action and experience, and that neurology requires a multidisciplinary approach with a person-centered approach.
Presencia Universitaria also informed that through a correspondence letter published in The Lancet Neurology “Brain health for all on World Brain Day 2022,” WFN members invited readers to participate
