HomeНовостиCombating epilepsy under the auspices of Rotary
14 February 2022
Rotary's contribution to the fight against epilepsy
Today is February 14, 2022 , International Epilepsy Day, which is celebrated every second Monday in February. Its coincidence with the Day of Lovers is not an accident: St. Valentine is considered the protector of patients with epilepsy on the European continent.
Initially, the memorable date was established in Warsaw as a local event in 2009. However, since 2015, International Epilepsy Day, initiated by the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), has been celebrated globally.
In our country, people suffering from epilepsy are in a difficult situation.
There is a lack of drugs and equipment, which has been tested by patients in this category for a number of years. Constant expensive examinations are also necessary - electroencephalography of the EEG (for diagnosis in the early stages and monitoring the effectiveness of all therapy) and drug monitoring of the concentration of the drug in the blood.
Epilepsy is especially difficult to tolerate in children: there are many fatal cases of death of a child from failure to provide timely assistance. The situation is aggravated by the high price of examinations - for example, an EEG costs from 20 to 40 thousand tenge with a frequency of at least once every 3 months. And pharmacomonitoring costs one-time 15-20 thousand.
Only Some examinations are included in the guaranteed amount of free medical care and CSHI. The latter partially provides children with these types of diagnostic services, and genetic examination is not provided at all.
The bulk of anticonvulsants are not registered in KZ, here they respectively can not be bought. Therefore, parents are forced to purchase them abroad at very inflated prices.
Our Rotary Club of Almaty, as part of the global priority Public Health, has been helping children with epilepsy for the fourth year (since 2019) on the basis of the Ken Zhurek Foundation, headed by Svetlana Kirichkova. Children are a priority.
Rotary assistance comes in two directions - covering the costs of EEG and drug monitoring in 5 regions of the country - Almaty, Atyrau, Karaganda, Taraz and Ust-Kamenogorsk.
And we are not going to stop there – Rotary's goal is to systematically help eradicate this terrible disease and continue the mission of service. Consistency involves the allocation of epilepsy in a separate state program.
On the Purple Day of the international calendar, we urge everyone to pay special attention to our compatriots suffering from an epileptic ailment, to show care and participation to them.
