"Epilepsy is a major public health problem: it is a chronic noncommunicable disease of the brain that affects more than 50 million people worldwide. Epilepsy accounts for 0.5% of the global burden of disease and is associated with stigma, physical and psychiatric comorbidity, and high economic costs. Nearly 80% of people living with epilepsy reside in low- and middle-income countries, and 75% do not receive the treatment they need. Over half of the people living with epilepsy worldwide are estimated to live in Asia. In comparison with Africa, Asia has more untreated patients, with greater treatment costs and possibly higher premature mortality. According to the WHO Atlas: country resources for neurological disorders (second edition), the median number of neurologists is extremely low in South-East Asia (0.1 per 100 000 population) and the Western Pacific (1.2) – far fewer than the ratio in Europe (6.6). In Myanmar, it is estimated that around 500 000 people live with epilepsy, a prevalence of 1.1 per 1000 population. An estimated 95% of people living with epilepsy do not receive the care required. The main reasons for this include the limited number of health care providers trained to provide care and support to people living with epilepsy, the limited access to anti-seizure medications, and a lack of awareness and health education about epilepsy. For more than 20 years, the WHO has led the global movement against epilepsy. Within the framework of the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy, WHO aims to bring epilepsy “out of the shadows”, encouraging countries to prioritize epilepsy in public health planning, as well as raise awareness of the disease among health care providers and the general public. The WHO Programme on reducing the epilepsy treatment gap seeks to achieve these goals in pilot locations in Myanmar, Ghana, Mozambique and Viet Nam, which can be used as a model for scale up in other countries. The Programme offers an innovative community-based model focused on expanding the skills of nonspecialist health care providers to diagnose, treat and follow up people living with epilepsy. Epilepsy is included as a priority condition in the WHO mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). It’s evidence-based guidelines facilitate delivery of interventions by nonspecialist health care providers and is used in the WHO Programme on reducing the epilepsy treatment gap to strengthen care provided for people living with epilepsy and their families. The Programme also includes strengthening of health systems to increase sustainable access to anti-seizure medications, reinforcing referral systems, ensuring better monitoring of epilepsy in health information systems, and raising awareness to support people living with epilepsy and their families. The Myanmar Epilepsy Initiative was launched in 2013 in a phased approach. In 2013, the project was initiated in the two townships of Hlegu and Hmawbi and then subsequently scaled up to Lewe, Kawhmu and Thalyinin 2014; Nyaundon, Thaton and Kyaikhto in 2015; Sagaing and Taunggyi in 2016, and Nyaunglebin and Pantanaw in 2017. The project gradually expanded to 12 townships, from seven states/regions, covering 2.9 million people. In 2013 and 2014, situation analyses and baseline surveys were carried out in the first five project townships to better understand the existing needs and resources. The prevalence of epilepsy ranged from 0.83 to 1.9 per 1000 population in the surveyed townships, with an average prevalence of 1.4 per 1000 population that was used to estimate the number of people living with epilepsy in other townships for planning purposes..."