As always, World Alzheimer’s Month included a whirlwind of activity from every corner of the globe as ADI member organisations gathered within their communities to raise awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s. This year’s World Alzheimer’s Month theme was “ask about dementia, ask about Alzheimer’s” in order to encourage an open discussion and dialogue about common misconceptions or misinformation that has been spread about the condition. In the public eye, dementia is not wholly understood, and still carries stigma associated with it. This year’s theme encouraged our global network of advocates to dispel myths in their countries, encourage open dialogue, and that asking about dementia, and asking about Alzheimer’s can only bring us all closer to a stigma-free reality.
On September 1st, ADI CEO Paola Barbarino launched World Alzheimer’s Month with a video message that was shared globally and welcomed the participation of people living with dementia, their carers, ADI member organisations, our partners, and the general public to ask about dementia and ask about Alzheimer’s. ADI was fortunate to have received messages from two of our global ambassadors, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Princess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan, who similarly encouraged viewers to engage with the awareness-raising campaign, and called for an end of stigma surrounding the condition. ADI also received a message of support from His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, continuing a legacy of support for World Alzheimer’s Month from the Vatican.
It was heartening to see so many of ADI’s partners and member organisations around the world launch their World Alzheimer’s Month campaigns. ADI saw some amazing content, including creative content developed using ADI’s campaign toolkits, being shared from Aruba, Austria, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taipei, United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe, and many more! We would encourage you to seek out your local dementia and Alzheimer’s association and see how they interacted with the campaign.
On 18 September, ADI launched the highly-anticipated World Alzheimer Report, which Paola hosted via online webinar. This year’s report centred around dementia rehabilitation and was titled Reimagining life with dementia – the power of rehabilitation. ADI worked alongside the University of Exeter and University of Sydney to publish this report. Rehabilitation is a key area within the dementia care continuum which has historically been under-utilised as a means of care and support for those living with dementia. There was great engagement from the ADI community for the launch: over 1600 people registered for the launch webinar with just under 800 watching live on the day.
The report explored the evidence for rehabilitation programs, best-practices for dementia rehabilitation in lower-income settings, and more. Global experts weighed in on the power of rehabilitation in a series of powerful essays.
To read the 2025 World Alzheimer Report
Side event at the United Nations General Assembly
At the end of the month, the ADI team travelled to New York to co-host a critical side event with the WHO at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23. The side event was titled Increasing the visibility of dementia in the context of the UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and brought together a panel of health ministers and global experts, moderated by Paola, with the aim of increasing awareness of dementia within the context of the UN high-level meeting on NCDs. During the event, ADI welcomed just under 1000 registrants online and over 75 people attending in person.
The high-profile panel included commentary from H.E. Budi Sadikin, Minister of Health of Indonesia; Dr Judith Tielen, Minister of Youth, Prevention and Sport of the Netherlands; Dr Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão, Vice Minister of Health of Brazil; H.E. Maritza Chan Valverde, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations; Dr Joanne Pike, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association; Katie Dain, CEO of NCD Alliance; and Rev Dr Cynthia Huling Hummel, a dementia advocate. ADI global ambassadors HM Queen Silvia of Sweden and HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan were also in attendance.
Later in the week, following two years of persistent advocacy by ADI, at the High Level Meeting on NCDs when dementia was, for the first time, recognised in the UN Political Declaration on NCDs and mental health. This decision is expected to be formally adopted in approximately a month’s time, at the next meeting of the General Assembly. This was a momentous achievement and a pivotal shift within the dementia narrative. Dementia, projected to become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2040, will now be acknowledged as a major public health and NCD priority.
Regional Activities
Throughout September, ADI saw amazing World Alzheimer’s Month engagement from the Americas and Asia Pacific regions.
In the Americas, Regional Director Diego Aguilar shared a flurry of activity: from a 5 KM run in Guyana, to a World Alzheimer’s Month billboard in Venezuela, and a health fair in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Diego, along with colleagues within the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) also organised a critical face-to-face dialogue outlining the global and regional landscape of dementia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Alongside Diego, the panel included representatives from the Association for the Fight against Alzheimer’s Disease and Similar Disorders of the Argentine Republic (ALMA), an official member of ADI in Argentina, and PAHO speakers. The objective of the meeting was to strengthen national dialogue, increase the visibility of best practices, and promote intersectoral action to move towards a comprehensive and rights-based response to dementia in Argentina.
On the region’s activities, Diego said:
World Alzheimer’s Month has been a powerful moment for the Americas. From the landmark ADI–PAHO panel in Buenos Aires, to the national symposium in Mexico led by the government, to the powerful hearing in the Brazilian Senate, our region has seen unprecedented political engagement. We also celebrate the renewal of the dementia plan in Puerto Rico, alongside the many awareness activities that brought our communities together — walks, webinars, public information sessions, the lighting of monuments, and countless grassroots initiatives. These actions show the momentum we are building across Latin America and the Caribbean to make dementia a public health priority.
In the Asia Pacific, Regional Director DY Suharya also noted tremendous participation in World Alzheimer’s Month activities from within the region. From a memory walk in Sri Lanka, to Malaysia opening their first dementia-friendly mall, to a panel led by Alzheimer’s Indonesia on cognitive rehabilitation and music therapy, there was an abundance of awareness-raising activity. The Asia Pacific region demonstrated their dedication to their communities and to raising awareness of Alzheimer’s and dementia, and focusing on improving the lives of those living with the condition, their families, and carers throughout September.
On the activities within the Asia Pacific region, DY had this to say:
With an estimated of 26 million people with dementia in Asia Pacific Region, all of ADI members have stepped up in amplifying September’s World Alzheimer’s Month campaign in their respective countries. From memory walks, screenings, seminars, workshops, media coverage initiatives, advocacy work, national dementia plan presentations, charity gala dinners, inter-generational movements, cognitive rehabilitation and risk reduction activities, among many other events have been the manifestation of the massive collective efforts nationally, regionally and globally to put dementia as a priority and to create a dementia inclusive society within this region. It was so great to see national monuments lit up for the occasion in Indonesia, Singapore, Maldives, Japan, and many other countries. Dementia Australia’s theme said it best: In partnership we trust, nobody can do it alone!
We’d like to thank everyone for their participation in this year’s World Alzheimer’s Month. Your posts, engagement, hashtag use, community events, panels, screenings, memory walks, 5KM runs, and everything you’ve done throughout this year’s campaign has helped raise awareness of dementia and promote a stigma-free tomorrow.
All of this incredible awareness raising work would not be possible without the support of our World Alzheimer’s Month sponsors: Eisai, AbbVie, MSD
With special thanks to World Alzheimer’s Month Partners: Lilly and Novo Nordisk