The government of Indonesia has launched its national dementia plan in Jakarta during a ceremony at the Ministry of Health, who pledged approximately $105,000 to support its implementation during the first year. The plan was launched by Professor Nila Moeloek, Minister of Health and attended by ADI Executive Director, Marc Wortmann and ADI Regional Director of Asia Pacific, Francis Wong.
Alzheimer’s Disease International contributed to the early stages of development of the plan with suggestions and examples from other countries, which was then finalised with a broad team including stakeholders Alzheimer Indonesia, professional medical associations and various sections of the Ministry.
Key sections of the plan include:
1. Awareness, risk reduction and promoting healthy lifestyles
2. Advocacy – human rights for People with Dementia and their caregivers
3. Access to information and quality services
4. Early detection, diagnosis and holistic management of cognitive problems
5. Strengthening human resources and overall system – infrastructure
6. Promoting cycle life approach
7. Supporting research on cognitive and dementia issues
DY Suharya, founder and Executive Director of Alzheimer Indonesia, welcomed the launch of the plan saying: “By launching the plan, Indonesia has showed a very serious step towards preparing for the ageing of its population. There are already 1.2 million people with Dementia in the country and this number is expected to increase to over 4 million by the year 2050 if we do not find a cure or ways to delay the onset of the disease. I hope the implementation of the plan starts soon to the benefit of all these people and their families.”
The rising prevalence of dementia in the Asia Pacific region could see the number of people living with dementia rise from 23 million in 2015 to almost 71 million by 2050.
