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.