In early July, DY Suharya, ADI Regional Director for the Asia Pacific, travelled to Lyon, France to attend a consultation on WHO report guidelines on dementia in cognitive decline. This consultation was held at the WHO Academy in Lyon with almost 40 people attending in-person and online with DY representing ADI’s 20 member association in the Asia Pacific, alongside the WHO steering committee, and other regional representatives from around the world.
Over four days of high-level discussions, DY represented ADI’s Asia Pacific region and contributed as part of the Guideline Development Group (GDG), providing key insights for the review of the “Risk Reduction of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: WHO Guidelines”.
The meeting was chaired by Huali Wang, Executive Vice President of Alzheimer’s Disease Chinese, and Sebastian Köhler of Maastricht University, alongside World Health Organization mental health specialist Katrin Seeher. Other attendees of the GDG included former ADI Board Member Emily Ong, who represented the voice of people with cognitive decline; Jaimie Steinmetz, IHME; Jane Rylett, Western University, Canada; and Kaarin Anstey, UNSW.
In total, the meeting welcomed 8 in-person and 35 online experts, including Miia Kivipelto and Tarun Dua. Also in attendance online were representatives from Asia Pacific Dementia Brunei, Shyh Poh Teo, and the Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation, Shehan Williams.
Then, mid-month, DY travelled to Vietnam, where she partook in a number of site visits and high-level meetings alongside Vietnam International Organisation for Better Ageing (VIOBA) representatives Thuy and Trang. VOIBA are currently participating in ADI’s Membership Development Programme as Vietnam’s representative dementia association.
DY said:
“It has been exceptional to spend this productive country visit with VIOBA, and meeting key individuals from organisations such as the National Geriatric Hospital (NGH), Vietnam Association of the Elderly (VAE) who collaborate with VIOBA in their advocacy work. VIOBA are currently taking part in our Membership Development Programme for Vietnam and hey have already proven to be an immensely dynamic organisation, and their leadership and passion are key for their continued success and the ultimate delivery Vietnam’s first National Dementia Plan and the Vietnam’s World’s Alzheimer’s Month Campaign. I have no doubt that their leadership will inspire others in Vietnam, the Asia Pacific region and beyond, to bring policy for people living with dementia.”
Together, they had the opportunity to visit Vietnam’s National Geriatric Hospital, the first and only hospital in the country specialising in dementia and geriatric issues including cognitive rehabilitation. There, they toured the facilities, learned about the cognitive rehabilitation programme, and learned about the hospital’s caregiver club – a community-based group network for carers at the Centre for Memory and Dementia Research. In 2023 and 2024, the hospital had almost 2000 participants taking part in their World Alzheimer’s Month campaign activities.
The next day, DY, Thuy, and Trang joined a high-level meeting with Vice Minister Le Duc Luan along with the Director of Older Populations, Director of Prevention, Director of Social Protection, and the Director of International Collaboration to discuss the development of a National Dementia Plan, a timely intervention since Vietnam’s NCD plan ends in 2025. Vice Minister Le Duc Luan agreed to begin development on a National Dementia Plan and put forward the Vietnam National Population Authority (VNPA) to lead on this initiative. DY as representative of ADI will continue to provide technical advice in developing the National Dementia Plan. During the meeting, delegates also discussed Vietnam along with their participation in ADI’s World Alzheimer’s Month campaign for 2025.
DY also had a productive meeting with Vietnam Association of the Elderly (VAE who play a significant role in advocacy and community-based initiatives. The VAE is an organisation representing older people and works closely with VIOBA and HelpAge International Vietnam in implementing the ISHC (Intergenerational Self-Help Club) programme, a comprehensive effective and sustainable community model to improve the quality of life of older persons in Vietnam.
On the final day of her Vietnam trip, DY attended a training session at the VIOBA offices where they invited 15 champions from the Intergenerational Self-Help Club. The training session included information on understanding dementia, and teaching effective communication skills when speaking to someone living with dementia, along with brain gym exercises. Most notably, VIOBA’s training session included the use of the pamphlet created by ADI member Alzheimer’s Indonesia on the 10 warning signs of dementia, a great example of the international and regional community and collaboration within ADI’s membership and developing members.
