Diego Aguilar, ADI Regional Director for the Americas, attended a pivotal national meeting of Alzheimer’s associations held from 5 to 7 June, in San Juan, Argentina. The event brought together 20 civil society organizations from across the country, committed to advancing the rights and care of people living with dementia and their families.
The meeting was attended by prominent lawmakers, including National Deputy Facundo Manes, Provincial Deputy Enzo Cornejo (San Juan), and José María Canelada (Tucumán), alongside health professionals, carers, and civil society leaders.
In a significant development, Deputy Enzo Cornejo publicly committed to passing a Provincial Alzheimer Law in San Juan, becoming one of the first provinces to take decisive legislative action. At the national level, Deputy Facundo Manes expressed confidence in securing the necessary votes to approve Argentina’s National Alzheimer Law in the Chamber of Deputies, while noting that it will be essential to compel the Budget and Finance Committee to include the bill in its forthcoming agenda for discussion.
Councilor Canelada reflected on the experience in Tucumán, which became the first Argentine province to enact a Provincial Dementia Law in 2017. “Having a law is not the same as having a plan,” he emphasized, pointing to the importance of implementation and long-term public investment.
The meeting also served to honour the legacy of Ana Baldoni, co-founder of ALMA and a pioneer in the Alzheimer’s movement in Latin America, along with Dr. Carlos Mangone. In 1989, after being told by a physician that “nothing could be done” for her husband following his dementia diagnosis, Ana wrote to ADI. Inspired by that exchange, she and Carlos founded ALMA and embarked on a nationwide journey, together with volunteers Elsa Ghio and Noemi “Chacha” Medina, to help form Alzheimer’s associations in 21 cities. Today, these 22 organizations represent a uniquely federal and grassroots dementia movement in Argentina.
ALMA’s president Gladys Bangueses said:
This is the strength of civil society. Argentina’s Alzheimer’s movement is rooted in solidarity, decentralization, and the quiet heroism of people who care. They remind us that laws must follow lives — and that change begins from the ground up.
The gathering in San Juan took place shortly after the extension of the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Dementia to 2031, providing a timely context that underscored the urgency of advancing national and provincial legislative action in Argentina. In this context, the unified call from civil society for concrete policy change resonated with renewed force: #LeyAlzheimerYa.