Alzheimer’s Disease International is increasingly concerned about cuts to research funding and overseas development aid globally. These cuts risk impacting the provision of vital services and critical research efforts into Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
There are an estimated 55 million people living with dementia globally and millions of additional informal and professional caregivers whose lives are directly impacted by the condition. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are highly stigmatised and often marginalised, even in high-income countries. Our latest survey in 166 countries revealed that 65% of healthcare professionals globally believe dementia is a normal part of ageing and not caused by a disease.
Stigma has led to chronic underfunding of dementia support services and research, impacting both support of families impacted by dementia and progress toward a disease-modifying treatment. Only in the last decade, thanks to increased awareness and funding, have we now started to see the first green shoots in all areas of dementia care and research. Cutting funding now brings a severe risk of dementia being deprioritised, and where this would set many other causes back a few years, it could set us back to the dawn of our discipline, as we had so little to go on in the first place. The World Alzheimer Report in 2018 stated unequivocally that for every 12 studies on cancer, there was only one on neurodegenerative disorders – a vast field including many conditions besides Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
We are cognisant of the increasing financial pressures faced by governments and agencies all over the world and understand how some of these issues are critically urgent. Yet as the federation of over 100 national Alzheimer and dementia associations, we urge policymakers to recognise the scale of the challenge of dementia and to mitigate against the inherent risks associated with such wide-ranging cuts to development and research budgets. We also remind our governments that international collaboration is the key to research breakthroughs, as proved by several critical and groundbreaking studies that have emerged in the last decade.
Dementia is a growing concern, and it is not going away. Forecast prevalence figures estimate that dementia cases will rise from 55 to 139 million by 2050. Dementia will also become the third leading cause of death globally by 2040. The current global annual cost of dementia is US$ 1.3 trillion. Cuts to international development, services, and research budgets risks exacerbating the situation, placing a further burden on many of society’s most vulnerable people and their families in the years ahead.
We have recently seen the impact of development and research cuts in ADI’s own work. In a previous round of cuts, there was blunt cessation of support for a truly important piece of international work, Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries (STRiDE), which sought to bolster capacity and resilience across seven lower- and middle-income countries. The withdrawal of funding at a critical phase of the project had a devastating impact on the planning, development and deployment of national strategies to combat dementia in these countries and ultimately on the quality of life of millions of people living with dementia and their families.
At this volatile and uncertain time, we are conscious that so many organisations will equally be impacted. We call on governments and policymakers not to forget dementia and the huge human and social costs of a condition that at last seemed to be getting some well-deserved breakthroughs. This is a pivotal moment for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. We urge governments to uphold their commitment to their citizens affected by dementia.