By Leocadia Bongben
Living with epilepsy has never been easy, but it is even harder in a conflict setting such as the Anglophone conflict in the North-west and South-west regions of Cameroon.
The conflict, which started in 2016, rages on with numerous impacts on the population besides displacements and deaths.
According to statistics from IBE, 65 million people in the world are living with epilepsy. In the absence of national statistics on prevalence, there are epilepsy hotspots such as Ntui in the center region, and Batibo in the northwest region. A study by Gams Massi and others maintains that in Cameroon, the prevalence of epilepsy ranges from 35.4 to 134.5 percent with children impacted. The prevalence of epilepsy ranges from 98 to 222.7 cases per 100,000 yearly, particularly in villages around the Sanaga River, which is where onchocerciasis is common due to the strong correlation with microfilaria.
Benedicta Akangte – a person living with epilepsy, a widow who is a mother of five, recounts her experience in the Northwest region of Cameroon, hard hit by the conflict. If Akangte encountered challenges as a person living with epilepsy, with the ongoing armed conflict, the situation would be even worse.“Anti-epileptic drugs were scarce before, but within the armed conflict, they are not even available due to frequent stock-outs. When I am lucky to find anti-epileptic drugs, the price is shocking. A card of 10 tablets of Carbamazepine 200mg which used to cost 200FCFA is now sold for about 10’000FCFA.”
Due to constant stockouts and my inability to have drugs, Akangte had a crisis that led to an accident. “I burnt my left hand on fire which has crippled me. The hand is less active now.”, Akangte says.
To make matters worse, the conflict has not only caused her accident, but she also lost a child who could buy her drugs. “I lost my eldest son to the conflict, he was shot, though I cannot say by who, the government forces or the Ambazonian separatists rebel groups.”
Thanks to the support from the Community Development and Epilepsy Foundation, CODEF, Akangte is coping following training with other women and young girls living with epilepsy in Tubah Sub Division on incoming generating activities like the production of body lotion and detergent in 2022.
CODEF in 2010, also trained 15 persons living with epilepsy on pig rearing and provided pigs to start within the Batibo and Bali Subdivisions. Five single teenage mothers learned tailoring, and CODEF provided them with sewing machines to start up their businesses. Other persons with epilepsy have been trained as epilepsy advocates for their communities.
The NGO, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, organized a national dialogue on epilepsy, and a proposed national campaign program on epilepsy was adopted. The Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders – IGAP recommendations were integrated into the annual health plans of the health districts.
More than five schools in the Northwest have been visited and sensitized on epilepsy and a survey has been carried out in all the schools to identify all the pupils living with epilepsy.
The common lead in the celebration of International Epilepsy Day is the desire to highlight epilepsy and to bring attention to the need for better awareness and understanding, appropriate legislation, improved diagnosis and treatment services, and increased research to better the lives of all those affected by epilepsy.
To mark the day this year, CODEF organized a two-month Radio epilepsy awareness campaign from December 2024 to January 2025.
The awareness campaign was aired on the Cameroon National Radio Television (CRTV) Bamenda, Truth FM radio, and Cameroon Broadcasting Services. According to Kenneth Nsom, CODEF Coordinator, awareness campaign Radio spots on epilepsy and IGAP were produced and broadcast.
Sensitization on epilepsy focused on first aid measures of a person with epilepsy experiencing seizures in a wheelchair, epilepsy resolutions, and the rights of persons with epilepsy. Participants of the radio quiz took home prizes.