The global Out of the Shadows campaign aims to stimulate public awareness and appropriate action by all nations to end the hidden suffering of people with epilepsy within their borders.

International Sponsors:

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• International League Against Epilepsy (international body of physician organizations concerned with epilepsy)
• International Bureau for Epilepsy (international body of patient and family organizations concerned with epilepsy)

United States Sponsors:

• Epilepsy Foundation (the leading national consumer organization for people with seizures and their families)
• American Epilepsy Society (the professional society for physicians and scientists who conduct research and treat seizures)

Epilepsy around the World:
Globally, 40 to 50 million people have epilepsy, including nearly 3 million in the United States. Nearly three-quarters of the affected - mostly those with epilepsy in non-industrialized nations - receive no treatment whatsoever for their seizures. Throughout the world, misunderstanding, fear and ill-informed public attitudes toward this common medical condition contribute to widespread discrimination, isolation and social rejection of people with epilepsy.

Impact on People's Lives:
The World Health Organization reports that, "In terms of productive life-years lost to disability and premature death, the burden of epilepsy ranks with depression and other affective disorders, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and substance abuse; among all medical conditions, it ranks with breast cancer in women and lung cancer in men."