There are over 50 neurologists in Oxford. In the whole of Ghana (population 33 million), there are six. In Zimbabwe (population 15 million) there are two. A suggestion that has been offered for many years is to develop new technologies to assist non-physician healthcare workers. Yet, resource poor settings are littered with failed attempts to do this. Donating an MRI scan does nothing if you do not have the personnel to maintain it. Similarly, providing expensive drugs is likely to break the country’s healthcare budget once the grant funding runs out.

How, then, do we develop sustainable improvements in health care across low to middle income settings?

In this panel discussion we explore a novel approach taken to tackle epilepsy, one of the most common, serious neurological illnesses. By embedding an oral history programme within a project designing economically viable technologies, we will showcase how the lived experience of people with a condition can lead to enduring solutions. There will be open discussion on the challenges faced and the aspirations for future work. Importantly, we will hear from in-country collaborators and from those in other resource limited settings as we try and better understand how apps and devices may be delivered at scale.

The expert panel includes neurologists from Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Oxford engineers and historians. The discussion will be moderated by Arjune Sen and Kevin Marsh with interactive audience participation throughout

We hope you can join us for what promises to be a lively conversation on how to solve the seemingly insoluble and create globally applicable technologies to improve mind-brain health.

This is a joint event with the Oxford Martin Programme on Global Epilepsy

Panel Discussion: 'If you want to change the world, change your approach - lessons from the Oxford Martin Programme on Global Epilepsy'