By Phitalis Were Masakhwe

You are in a function and suddenly somebody collapses and starts foaming. What do you do? How are you prepared to deal with such a person you can see is in pain and helplessness? That is the dilemma that my two colleagues and I found ourselves in a few days ago.

 On a road near our office we are walking slowly on our way to look for lunch in the neighbourhood eatery. All of a sudden a middle-aged man in front of us falls and hits himself badly on tarmac. He is lucky to have missed being hit by an oncoming car. My colleagues and people around rush to try to help. We establish that the man got an epileptic attack.

What befell this man is a common occurrence, but how prepared is the country in dealing with epilepsy and management of the challenges facing people living with the condition?

What strategy, programmes and activities are in place by Government and in particular the ministries of health to help the public better understand and manage epilepsy? Should children with epilepsy miss school on account of having epilepsy? Should epileptics lead miserable lives as has been witnessed because of the condition?

A number of researches have been conducted on epilepsy; how it’s understood and perceived and the reasons for the same. From these studies one thing is conspicuously clear particularly in Africa. Epilepsy is least understood. Some people think over 70 per cent of cases have no identifiable cause.

According to a researcher and KMTC lecturer Tiberry Nyakwana, epilepsy may result from head injury, stroke, brain tumour, lead poisoning, genetic conditions, or severe infections like meningitis or encephalitis. Many falsely believe epilepsy is a rare disease that only affects the cursed and the rural poor.

The situation is not all gloomy though. For many years now the Kenya Association for the Welfare of Epileptics (Kawe) and the Epilepsy Foundation of Kenya have been in the forefront not only advocating for the rights of people living with epilepsy but undertaking direct programmes.

Other programmes include public education and field extension, including capacity building initiatives to strengthen support groups helping those living with the condition.

Rahab Karienya the CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation feels a lot still needs to be done to comprehensively address and manage the disease, which can lead to disability.

—The writer is a sociologist with a physical disability

mphitalis@gmail.com