In May 2025, our partners the G4 alliance co-sponsored a wonderful traumatic brain injury (TBI) side event in the 78th World Health Assembly entitled Recognizing Traumatic Brain Injury as a Chronic and Notifiable Condition. We provide a summary of the event and a new update on their current progress.
Chaired by Dr Gail Rousseau, USA, the speakers were Paul Dubetz, Dr Tariq Khan, Pakistan, Mr Peter Hutchinson, U.K., Dr Sara Venturini, U.K., Professor Franco Servadei, WHO Representative of the WFNS, Nicoline Schiess, WHO Brain Health Unit, Sania Nishtar, CEO of GAVI – the Vaccine Alliance, Alexis Turgeon, Canadian TBI Research Consortium (CTRC) and Dr. Ernest J. Barthélemy, ThinkFirst foundation.
Why make TBI a recognisable chronic notifiable condition?
Dr Khan and Mr Hutchinson say; “TBI is one of the leading causes of death and disability, particularly among young adults especially in LMICs. Despite this, it is underdiagnosed, underreported, and underprioritized in national health data systems. Without mandatory notification, health systems cannot accurately measure or respond to the true burden of TBI. Declaring TBI as chronic realigns health systems to track, support, and rehabilitate survivors far beyond the acute emergency phase.” Making TBI recognisable enables three main outcomes:
- Real-time surveillance of injury mechanisms (e.g., road traffic, falls, violence, firearms)
- Identification of hotspots and high-risk groups (e.g., adolescents, motorcyclists, construction workers, others)
- Informed allocation of health resources (e.g., neurotrauma centers, rehabilitation units, public awareness campaigns)
Professor Servadei highlighted that; “There has been a tremendous increase of TBI in developing countries due to road traffic accidents with more epidural and acute subdural hematomas. However there have been changes in the TBI population in Europe, Japan and USA as it affects the older population, who have more co-morbidities, with falls being the first cause of trauma.” He demonstrated that whilst the epidemiology of TBI can be diverse it is an “an important social disease everywhere. It is the first reason for a surgical intervention in the brain on a worldwide basis. The treatment strategy is complex and requires sophisticated health care organisation which often is not available in LMIC. In addition, it is one of the most important cause of prolonged disability.”
The Canadian TBI Research Consortium (CTRC)
On 2nd June 2022, Private Members Bill C-277: A National Brain Injury Strategy was introduced to the Canadian government. It passed unanimously by the House of Commons and the Standing Committee on Health in 2024. This allowed for several new initiatives concerning strategies TBI care; prevention strategies, training and education of healthcare professionals and public awareness, implementation of national guidelines of prevention, diagnosis and management including; mental health supports and post-injury outcomes for like social challenges and research and standardized data collection. This was a culmination of a collaboration between Brain Injury Canada and Canadian Traumatic Brain Injury Research Consortium who disseminated a positional paper in 2023.
Unfortunately, in January of this year, C-277 was cancelled due to federal government prorogation. However, the group says; “We can reflect on the remarkable milestones achieved and can celebrate collected efforts.”. They are preparing a new bill to be submitted and have been able to achieve the following. Firstly, engaging more organizations as partners in advocacy efforts and encourage action, especially in underserved areas. Secondly, securing support from provinces and territories for a national strategy while respecting and maintaining their jurisdiction over healthcare. Finally, leading advocacy globally – which lead to the formation of a global coalition which brings TBI to the global stage and WHA.
A TBI WHO Resolution
Dr Khan and Mr Hutchinson argue that ; “A resolution provides a legitimized framework for ministries of health to act and implement reforms because it transforms TBI from an invisible crisis into a trackable, fundable, and manageable global health condition.” Next Dr Sara Venturini spoke about the outcomes of the TBI notification pilot; “The WHA78 Take home points are the need to measure TBI outcomes, the need to break silos and the need to take action.” Dr Venturini explained the TBI is not exclusively a surgical condition, in many areas of the world it is treated by different services including medical doctors like neurologists and clinical specialists – depending on what service provision is available. She was delighted to inform us that since the side event the Pakistan government, in collaboration with the Global Coalition for TBI, is sponsoring a resolution to recognize Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as a global health priority. This resolution will be presented at the 79th World Health Assembly in May 2026. The resolution is supported by a global coalition including clinical experts, TBI survivors, and governmental representatives from various countries, including Pakistan. A draft resolution has been written and submitted to the Pakistan government. Mr. Zaman Mehdi, Deputy Ambassador of Pakistan to Switzerland, who, on behalf of the Government of Pakistan, announced to sponsor the resolution.
