Tackling Mental Health in Epilepsy: Dr. Phyllis Kimani Joins Tanzania Epilepsy Organization's Advocacy Network

💜🇹🇿 Asante sana, Tanzania Epilepsy Organization! On Saturday 26th September 2026, our founder Dr. Phyllis Kimani presented the whole of Session 4 of the Community Education and Awareness Program (CEAP) Epilepsy Advocacy Network — a session on Epilepsy and Mental Health: tackling mental health challenges in people living with epilepsy and their caregivers.

Dr. Kimani spoke to the three groups who live this every day: people living with epilepsy, their caregivers, and healthcare providers — sharing insights on assessing the mental health burden in epilepsy and exploring inclusive solutions that fit African health systems.

One in three people living with epilepsy experiences a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety — and in East Africa the figure is even higher than the global one, with both likely underestimates because most people are never screened. Mental health and epilepsy travel together: it is partly biology, partly medicines, and partly what society does — which means awareness work is treatment too.

Dr. Kimani also spotlighted new evidence from Tanzania's own researchers, including the first study of its kind on caregiver mental health at Muhimbili National Hospital, using the Swahili PHQ-9 and GAD-7 — tools that are short, free, validated in Tanzania, and ready to use in any clinic in the country.

Because Tanzania has fewer than one psychiatrist per million people, she focused on solutions that don't depend on specialists: one screening question at every visit, task-sharing models like the Friendship Bench, seizure first aid education as caregiver mental health care, schools where stigma is unlearned, and support between clinic visits.

A highlight of the session was the caregivers: giving them permission to look after themselves, and reminding health workers that the caregiver is your patient too. For children and adolescents — the hidden half of the burden — the message to caregivers and teachers was simple: ask the child how they feel. A child who is protected and understood at school does not learn to hide.

What made the session truly special was the audience. Thank you to every person who joined, and for the wonderful questions, comments and shared experiences throughout — a highly engaging session, made by the people in the room. 💜

Every link in an inclusive epilepsy care chain already exists somewhere in Tanzania — the work is to join them. We are grateful to the Tanzania Epilepsy Organization for the invitation, we look forward to future collaboration — including sharing our Kiswahili books, handouts and research findings with Tanzanian schools and clinics — and we can't wait to be back. 💜

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