Approximately one in 10 people can expect to have at least one epileptic seizure during a normal lifespan, but one seizure is not epilepsy. Only a third of the people who expe-rience a seizure have an enduring brain disturbance that causes recurrent seizures and therefore warrants a diagnosis of epilepsy. Despite epilepsy being so common, the reported figures vary widely. The incidence is generally taken to be between 40 and 70 per 100 000 people per year in indus-trialized countries, with estimates of 100–190 per 100 000 people per year in developing countries (51, 52). The preva-lence is between 5 and 40 per 1000 persons (51). Parasitic, viral and bacterial infections have been suggested as impor-tant factors in the cause of epilepsy in developing countries (52). Other important causes include brain damage at birth caused by asphyxia, infections, and brain trauma resulting from accidents. Some of the public health policies which may help in modifying these risk factors include better peri-natal care, strategies to control head injury, better hygiene to decrease neurocysticercosis, and immunization. In the affluent countries, reduction of stroke by modifying the risk factors may lEvidence exists that 60–70% of people with epilepsy could lead normal lives if properly treated with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (53). Some of them will need to continue with medi-cation for life but, for others, the antiepileptic medication may eventually be stopped without seizures recurring. For some patients with intractable epilepsy, neurosurgical treat-ment may be successful.Of the burden of epilepsy worldwide, 80% is in the devel-oping world, where 80% of people with epilepsy receive no treatment at all (52). In most of these regions, misconcep-tions, stigma, and discrimination are greater obstacles to the well-being of people with epilepsy than lack of adequate health-care facilities. These problems can be solved rela-tively inexpensively through education of patients, their families, the general public, health-care providers and gov-ernment agencies, as well as through improved access to effective treatments. A Global Campaign Against Epilepsy, a joint effort of the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE), the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and WHO, is currently in progress in order to reduce the treat-ment gap for epilepsy and promote acceptance of people with this disorder by bringing epilepsy “out of the shad-ows” (54). The aim of the Campaign is to provide better information about epilepsy and its consequences and to assist governments and those concerned with epilepsy to reduce the burden of the disorder. Much more basic and clinical research is necessary to devel-op new approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treat-ment, and to devise cost-effective ways to bring currently available approaches to the developing areas of the world where limited resources and tropical conditions remain a major obstacle Stroke is the second leading cause of death after ischemic heart disease worldwide, with an estimated 5.5 million subjects dying from stroke every year. Two thirds of these deaths occur in countries with low resources. Approxi-mately 80% of patients survive the acute phase of stroke: 50–75% of the survivors are left with varying degrees of chronic disability, thus making stroke a leading cause of dis-ability in adults.Hospital care, long-term care, complete or partial working incapacity, and community support – all of these factors cause enormous costs for the patients, their families, com-munities and the health-care system. There are different estimates of costs of management of stroke per patient in various regions. In Australia, the European Union and North America, the mean total cost of stroke management for the first three months is approximately US$ 14 000. The average cost per surviving day is US$ 260 (55). In general, more than 70% of costs are directed for covering hospi-talization, less than 20% for rehabilitation, and the rest for chronic care facilities. Lifetime costs per stroke patient range approximately between US$ 60 000 and US$ 230 000. These costs should be regarded in the context of the epi-demiological data, as the number of stroke survivors in a society translates directly into the actual economic burden of stroke.Surveys performed before 1990 show that the worldwide crude prevalence rate of stroke in all age groups ranges from 4 to 20 per 1000 population. More recently published data from population-based studies show less variability between geographical regions, with the crude prevalence rate ranging from 5 to 10 per 1000 population (56).Some gender differences can be observed, as the stroke prevalence rate is lower in women than in men. Despite the stable rates, demographic estimates point towards an important increase of the number of strokes in the near future – especially in South America and Asia. Based on these simple data one can roughly estimate the life-time costs of all strokes as millions of dollars in a medi-um-sized European country, thus highlighting the impor-tance of stroke as a target for public health campaigns. However, stroke-related costs should not be regarded from a perspective of a high-income country. With the increasing burden of stroke in low-income countries the same magni-tude of resources would be required to fulfil the needs of patients and to cover the disability-related loss of productivity. As prevention is more effective than treatment, primary health care is the most appropriate means of preventing stroke and reducing its public health impact. It is crucial to increase awareness among primary care physicians of modifiable stroke risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tobacco smoking, obesity and excessive alcohol consumption. This knowledge will allow for institution of primary and secondary prevention measures. It is also of great importance to introduce stroke awareness campaigns for the public, to promote healthy lifestyles and demon-strate the need for risk factor modification. Stroke should be regarded as one of the preventable cardiovascular diseases, and stroke prevention should be a global effort. Data from the literature shows that organized care in a stroke unit is the most effective way of reducing long-term case fatality, long-term disability and the need for institu-tionalization (57). The benefits of a stroke unit come from its focus on coordinated multidisciplinary care, nursing inte-gration and early rehabilitation. Specialization of care repre-sented by interest and expertise in stroke rehabilitation, and also education and training of staff, patients and caregivers, are of great importance. Efforts need to be made to popu-larize and promote stroke unit care, especially in countries with low and medium levels of resources. Important endeavours have been undertaken recently to improve the knowledge of stroke epidemiology world-wide. The Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division of the Population and Public Health Branch of Health, Canada – a WHO Collaborating Centre for Surveillance of Cardiovas-cular Diseases – developed a database of worldwide demo-graphic data on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease mortality and morbidity. Moreover, the World Federation of Neurology and the International Stroke Society, in col-laboration with WHO, have initiated the development of a stroke component of the WHO Global Noncommunicable Disease Infobase, which collects information on stroke prevalence, incidence, mortality and case fatality based on published data. Another WHO-initiated activity is an inter-national stroke surveillance system: the STEPwise approach, which will form a framework for surveillance and data col-lection in order to achieve comparability of data over time and between different countries (58, 59). All these efforts aim to improve prevention and control of stroke and to facilitate the planning of health services. A joint effort of health-care professionals, nongovernmental organizations and governmental bodies is the key to controlling epidemics ofHeadache disorders are ubiquitous. Their lifetime prevalence in populations in which they have been meas-ured is over 90%. Migraine is most studied, although still not fully in all regions of the world. It mostly affects people of working age but does trouble children as well. Euro-pean and American studies show that 6–8% of men and 15–18% of women experience migraine every year (60).A similar pattern is seen in Central and South America: in Puerto Rico, for example, 6% of men and 17% of women are affected. Major studies are still to be conducted in India, but anecdotal evidence suggests similar levels of migraine promoted by Indian lifestyle factors.