Kee Park

At a #WHA79 side event on traumatic brain injury (TBI), I joined partners and Member States to advance a stronger global response to one of the most overlooked public health challenges of our time. With an estimated 69 million TBIs occurring every year globally, recognizing TBI as a notifiable and chronic condition can help strengthen prevention, surveillance, emergency care, rehabilitation and long-term support, especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the burden is compounded by conflict and displacement, making stronger trauma systems and continuity of care an urgent priority. I thank Pakistan for formally submitting a draft resolution recognizing TBI as a notifiable, chronic and preventable condition, and Indonesia and Türkiye for co-sponsoring this important effort toward stronger global action on TBI. Appreciation also goes to the @TBICoalition, @theG4Alliance, the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change @HarvardPGSSC, and the International Health Systems group at the University of Cambridge @Cambridge_Uni for convening this timely dialogue and advancing momentum toward a WHA resolution that puts patients, dignity and long-term recovery at the centre of global health action.