Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide, yet women of reproductive age, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, continue to face multiple barriers to care during pregnancy. In Nepal, these challenges highlight the urgent need to integrate epilepsy into maternal and reproductive health systems to ensure safer pregnancies and better long-term outcomes.

In her talk, Deepesha Silpakar, Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow with the Programme on Global Epilepsy, will share insights from her work examining how epilepsy is addressed within maternal health frameworks in Nepal. She will discuss mapping access to antiseizure medicines, identifying system-level and policy gaps and developing theory of change and aligned strategies to strengthen maternal-neurological care in resource-limited settings.

The session will be followed by a panel discussion with Dr Mahesh Kumar Maskey, Founding Chair and Executive Chief of the Nepal Public Health Foundation; Professor Jane Hirst, Chair of Global Women’s Health at Imperial College London; and Professor Arjune Sen, Professor of Global Epilepsy at the University of Oxford;. Together, they will explore how research, clinical practice, and policy can align to better integrate epilepsy within broader maternal and women’s health agendas, bridging perspectives from Nepal, Oxford, and the global health community.

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

REGISTRATION

• To attend in-person at the Oxford Martin School, please scroll down to the registration form at the bottom of this page
• To watch live online on Crowdcast: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/integrating-epilepsy-into-maternal-health-systems
• To watch live/catch up afterwards on Youtube: https://youtu.be/TKtvmP0oID4 
   

Deepesha Silpakar
Visiting Fellow, Oxford Martin Programme on Global Epilepsy

Ms. Deepesha Silpakar is a public health professional from Nepal, currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health. She is the Project Coordinator at Nepal Public Health Foundation and also serves as the Coordinator for The Global Health Network Nepal Center. With experience in coordinating multiple projects at the Nepal Public Health Foundation, she has been leading collaborative research with Stanford University, contributed to studies on pesticide exposure, and piloted maternal and neonatal health interventions. As Coordinator for The Global Health Network Nepal, she has facilitated research capacity-building and partnerships with global institutions, including TGHN, Oxford and Boston University. Her primary interest lies in research focused on Maternal Health and Non-communicable Diseases.

Dr Mahesh Kumar Maskey
Founding Chair and Executive Chief, Nepal Public Health Foundation

Dr Maskey is a prominent public health expert whose areas of expertise include perinatal epidemiology, health policy and planning, health systems research, and the use of evidence to inform national and international health policy. He has served in several key leadership roles, including as Executive Chair of the Nepal Health Research Council (2006–2009), and as an Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population. He played a vital role in drafting Nepal’s Three-Year Interim Health Plan (2007–2010) and was the architect of the country’s targeted and universal free health care service models introduced in 2006. 

Professor Jane Hirst
Chair of Global Women's Health, Imperial College London

Professor Jane Hirst is an obstetrician and global women’s health specialist passionate about gender equity and improving the lives of all women and girls. After completing her clinical training and PhD in Australia and Viet Nam, she moved to Oxford and helped develop the digital intervention GDmHealth, now used across the UK. Since 2023, she has led the Women’s Health Program at the George Institute for Global Health and is Chair of Global Women’s Health at Imperial College London. This global program focuses on several key areas: sex and gender equity in medical research; leveraging pregnancy as an opportunity to improve women’s lifelong health; developing novel digital and AI solutions to promote health equity; and protecting women and girls from the effects of climate change. 

Professor Arjune Sen
Professor of Global Epilepsy, University of Oxford

Arjune is Director of the Centre for Global Epilepsy and Director of the Oxford Martin Programmes on Global Epilepsy and Equitable Allocation of Medicines, and Consultant Neurologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Arjune is also Head of the Epilepsy Research Group at the Oxford University Hospitals; topic advisor to the NICE Epilepsy Guidelines; and a member of Commissions and Councils at the International League Against Epilepsy. Over the past several years, a clear focus of Arjune's work has been global epileptology with a view to improving care for people in resource poor settings through the development of culturally tailored technologies to be deployed at scale through hard-to-reach communities. 

 

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