World Alzheimer’s Month and World Alzheimer’s Day are coordinated by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI).
ADI and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched World Alzheimer’s Day on 21 September 1994. World Alzheimer’s Month followed sixteen years later, with the first awareness campaign piloted in 2010 amongst 12 countries. The first theme for World Alzheimer’s Month, ‘Dementia: It’s time for action!’, focused on applying pressure to governments to evaluate current policies around dementia, as well as consider ways to improve services for people with dementia and their families.
Previous campaigns
2022
The theme again for World Alzheimer’s Month ‘Know Dementia, Know Alzheimer’s. The theme focused on the importance of a post-diagnosis support for people living with dementia, as well as the 12 risk factors and the continued need to break down the stigma that still surrounds Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
2021
The theme for World Alzheimer’s Month was ‘Know Dementia, Know Alzheimer’s. The theme focused on the importance of a timely diagnosis, as well as the 10 warning signs of dementia and the continued need to break down the stigma that still surrounds Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
2020
The theme again for World Alzheimer’s Month 2020 was ‘Let’s Talk About Dementia’. It continued to highlight attention towards the importance of talking about dementia, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
The theme for World Alzheimer’s Month 2019 was ‘Let’s Talk About Dementia’. By highlighting the importance that dialogue plays when it comes to discussing dementia, ADI wanted to emphasise that conversations have the power to break down stigma, encourage the first step towards accessing support and services, as well as receiving a timely diagnosis.
2018
The theme for World Alzheimer’s Month 2018 was ‘Every 3 Seconds’. By focusing on the statistic that someone in the world develops dementia every three seconds, ADI wanted to highlight the huge global impact of dementia and emphasise the importance of recognising dementia as a disease and challenging the stigma that surrounds it.
