The Global Week for Action on NCDs (18–25 September 2025) is a rallying point for health advocates worldwide. This year’s theme, Time to Lead, challenges governments, organizations, and communities to act boldly against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
But there’s one overlooked issue that belongs firmly in this conversation: sleep health, especially narcolepsy. In Africa, children with narcolepsy are punished in schools, misunderstood at home, and dismissed by doctors. As we campaign for stronger NCD responses, we must ensure that sleep disorders are not left behind.
Why Narcolepsy Matters in the NCD Conversation
- Narcolepsy is chronic and lifelong. Like diabetes or epilepsy, it requires ongoing care and awareness.
- It affects education and employment. Children are often punished for symptoms beyond their control. Adults face stigma in workplaces.
- It links to other NCDs. Poor sleep increases risks for hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression.
- It is underdiagnosed. Many African patients go years without answers, facing stigma instead of support.
By integrating narcolepsy into national NCD frameworks, we strengthen the entire response to chronic disease.
“Time to Lead” Applied to Sleep Health
- Policy Leadership: Ministries of Health must explicitly include sleep disorders in NCD strategies.
- Education and Workplace Leadership: Schools should adapt learning environments—allowing nap breaks, teacher awareness, and reduced punishment.
- Collaborate with education stakeholders so schools adopt accommodations for students with sleep disorders.
- Work with social services and employer groups to support adult workers with narcolepsy.
- Investment Leadership: Governments must invest in sleep clinics, training doctors, and building data systems.
- Community Leadership: Lived experiences of people with narcolepsy should guide solutions and awareness campaigns. Center stories of patients, caregivers, teachers, and clinicians. Use them as evidence and motivators for change.
- Accountability: Sleep health indicators must be part of national NCD surveys and progress reports.
What Narcolepsy Africa Foundation Is Doing
During Global Week for Action on NCDs 2025, we will:
- Relaunch the #USINGIZIINITIATIVE digital campaign.
- Share real stories of African students and families living with narcolepsy.
- Call on African governments to include sleep disorders in NCD strategies.
- Partner with schools and teachers to improve awareness and classroom support.
This September, the world will be talking about leadership in NCDs. For Narcolepsy Africa Foundation, Time to Lead means standing up for children and adults whose sleep disorders have been ignored for too long. Together, we can create a future where no child is punished for a symptom they cannot control.
Call to Action:
The 2025 Global Week for Action on NCDs invites leaders everywhere to rise. It is indeed time to lead—and there is no better place to start than shining light on sleep health and conditions like narcolepsy. Inclusion is not optional; it’s vital to a comprehensive NCD strategy.
Join the movement. Share your story. Amplify the message. Together, let’s put sleep health on Africa’s NCD agenda.