People Around the World to get Together Under The Umbrella in support of Brain Disorder Awareness this July
NEWS RELEASE
Saturday, July 22nd is World Brain Day. Organisers of the Together Under the Umbrella campaign are inviting the public to share a picture of themselves on the day, using the hashtag #UnderTheUmbrella, to help raise awareness of brain disorders.
Last year’s World Brain Day saw hundreds of pictures shared around the world – selfies, groups of family and friends, medical professionals and patient groups, all stood under umbrellas in support of brain disorder awareness. A wide variety of disease areas were highlighted in these messages including MS, Parkinsons, headache, mental health, chronic pain, ME and rare diseases.
The campaign is an initiative of the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA), who bring together European umbrella organisations of neurological patient advocacy groups.
The umbrella is used as a symbol of unity by the campaign – bringing the many neurological conditions together. To find out more about the campaign visit www.undertheumbrella.eu and follow @UnderUmbrellaEU on social media.
We’re #UnderTheUmbrella for #WorldBrainDay! Join us to raise
#BrainDisorder & #[InsertYourDiseaseArea] awareness
About Together Under the Umbrella
Developed in line with a strategy to advocate for support of patient-led campaigns to educate, eradicate stigma and raise awareness of neurological and chronic pain disorders, Together Under the Umbrella aims:
• To raise awareness of the prevalence of neurological disorders
• To educate society on the range of disorders which are ‘neurological’
• To ‘brand the brain’ by grouping these disorders under a common symbol to create a unified and identifiable
‘brand’
• To provide a platform for European and national patient neurology groups to promote and profile their work
in the areas of advocacy, communications and fundraising using the hashtag #UnderTheUmbrella
About Neurological Disorders
• Each year, approximately 1 in 3 Europeans are affected by a brain disorder and 1 in 5 by chronic pain.
• This includes 153 million people suffering migraine or other disabling headaches, 200 million musculoskeletal
disorders, 100 million people experiencing chronic pain, 8 million living with stroke, 6 million with dementia
and 4 million with traumatic brain injury.
• The World Health Organisation estimates that brain disorders cause one-third of the burden of all diseases.
• €295 billion a year is spent on healthcare for neurological and brain disorders, making them ‘the number one
economic challenge for European health care, now and in the future’.
About the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA):
The European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) brings together European umbrella organisations of neurological patient advocacy groups, to work with other associations in the field of neurology, including the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), in what has been termed a ‘Partnership for Progress’.
EFNA’s aims are:
• To improve the quality of life of people with neurological disorders, their families and carers
• To promote rapid and accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, rehabilitation and care for people with
neurological illnesses
• To promote better access to information which is accurate and easy to understand
• To promote public awareness and understanding of neurological conditions
• To eliminate prejudice and stigma associated with neurological disorders
• To increase priority given to neurology by policy and decision makers and by health care providers.
EFNA currently has a membership of 18 associations, based in countries Europe-wide.
