Raising awareness and sharing the painful truth about migraine
The World Federation of Neurology’s World Brain Day, held each year on July 22, is an annual day of awareness and advocacy, fostering brain health worldwide. This year’s theme was “Migraine: The Painful Truth,” an initiative to raise awareness and bring migraine out of the shadows. We proudly stood with advocacy organizations around the globe to share the painful truth about migraines.
To help promote World Brain Day, the American Migraine Foundation launched an awareness campaign in New York City’s Times Square. By showing the impact of migraine to the hundreds of thousands of pedestrians who enter Times Square daily, we took migraine awareness to a new level. This series spoke to those who are suffering in silence and showed the public the true impact of migraine. Through a combination of bold imagery and personal stories, we humanized migraine, inspiring and empowering those living with the disease to seek the treatment and help they need.
With a focus on the primary gaps surrounding migraine awareness, the World Federation of Neurology and their global partners developed educational messaging to share leading up to and during World Brain Day. To help amplify these important messages, we shared these facts with our community to further educate our followers on the widespread impact of this disease. Here are the painful truths about the global impact of migraine:
- Prevalence: Migraine is the most common brain disease in the world, affecting 1 in 7 people worldwide.
- Disability: Migraine is a major, disabling disease that can severely impact every aspect of your life.
- Education: Migraine is under-recognized, under-diagnosed and under-treated.
- Standard of Care: Together, we can ensure those affected by migraine receive the care they need.
- Research: Migraine receives less research funding than any of the world’s most burdensome diseases.
World Brain Day isn’t the end of our advocacy efforts and it shouldn’t be for you. Share your painful truth about migraine to change the conversation and make a difference. Advocate on social media, educate those around you and tell your migraine story to help raise the global understanding of migraine as a disabling disease.
