The fourth World Coma Day took place on March 22, 2024, and shined a spotlight on the NCS Asia Oceania chapter. The region had its own dedicated online webinar which was organized and supported by NCS, with focused discussions on unique challenges and opportunities for successful implementation of the Curing Coma Campaign (CCC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Flyer for the Asia Regional Chapter’s World Coma Day webinar.

The webinar started with a welcome address by Dr. Hemanshu Prabhakar from India, which was followed by a talk from Dr. Kapil Zirpe from India, the current chair of the region. Dr. Zirpe highlighted perspectives from developing nations, including their understanding of coma and issues related to implementing the CCC, the unique challenges inherent to LMICs, and possible solutions and associated opportunities.

The following session included a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Gentle S. Shrestha from Nepal, who is the immediate past chair of the NCS Asia Oceania chapter. This discussion involved panelists from multiple nations from the region as well as members of NCS leadership. Among the panelists, Dr. Jo Ann Soliven represented the Philippines, Dr. Saurabh Anand represented India, Dr. Masao Nagayama represented Japan, and Dr. Yu-Lin Wong represented Singapore. CCC co-chairs Dr. Claude Hemphill and Dr. DaiWai Olson also participated in the panel discussion, representing NCS leadership (Figure 2).

Figure 2. The panel discussion.

Dr. Hemphill elaborated on the CCC’s major ongoing projects and activities, as well as its vision for the future. Meanwhile, the other expert panelists underscored how many LMICs were in the region, and that the unique perspectives of these nations need to be considered. The panelists discussed regional challenges related to coma diagnosis and management such as primitive pre-hospital transportation, a high disease burden, poor insurance coverage and reimbursement of healthcare costs, limited resources, clinician nihilism, and an overall lack of awareness about coma. The panel also discussed the need to strengthen preventive measures to minimize the burden of coma, promote cost effective interventions, and enhance management strategies for common causes of coma like traumatic brain injury and stroke. The panel emphasized the value of raising awareness among both healthcare workers and the public, while also expressing a need for high quality epidemiological data and collaborative efforts for enhancing coma care and coma research. Dr. Nagayama added that education about coma, including risks, crisis management, and related issues, was an urgent need in every country. In response, Dr. Hemphill expressed his and NCS’ eagerness to support coma-related activities in the region and proposed that the region formulate its own roadmap for coma care that would be achievable and realistic.

In summary, the NCS Asia Oceania chapter marked World Coma Day 2024 with a lively online panel discussion that focused on the challenges and opportunities for the CCC in the region. Hopefully, this kind of discussion can help bridge the numerous gaps in coma care in LMICs and be a step toward enhanced care in the future.