In February 2020 we went on a mission...28,000 people in 128 countries had just signed a petition – to show the World Health Organization (WHO) that Encephalitis Matters.

Thousands of people around the world united by a desire to put encephalitis on the global map. People who wanted change and understood the devastating impact of this brain condition.

Our CEO, Dr Ava Easton and President, Professor Tom Solomon CBE presented this petition to the World Health Organization in February 2020. It was the catalyst for change.

Fast forward five years: our 180-page Global Impact Report has been published, the World Health Organization held and reported on a series of meetings resulting in their publication Why Encephalitis Matters, and now we await their publication of an important Technical Brief on encephalitis.

The target audience for this brief includes policymakers, public health professionals, health programme managers and planners, healthcare providers, and researchers involved in service design and improving care for people with encephalitis. It will give Encephalitis International the leverage to begin projects and collaborations to improve data, diagnostics, treatments, and care for the global encephalitis community.

In order to support the start of these initiatives and to coincide with its publication on World Encephalitis Day 2025 by the WHO, we are proud to launch our World Encephalitis Day (WED) Fund.

With YOUR support, by World Encephalitis Day 2025 (22nd February) we want to raise £50,000. This fund will be dedicated to the activities we will now initiate guided by the Technical Brief’s findings and key action points.