Another year of inspiring action, of coming together and of growing support for this global movement. This year, we have rallied our global community around a key message: ‘Time to act on dementia’, ‘Time to act on Alzheimers.
The campaign has garnered over 81 million impressions worldwide and 4,000 mentions in the media and ADI would like to thank the international community of dementia associations, advocates, campaigners, policymakers, health and care professionals, people living with dementia, and their carers, family, and friends, who have united under the theme “Time to act on dementia”, “Time to act on Alzheimers” generating over 17,000 pieces of user-generated content throughout the month.
Throughout the month, we have raised awareness of the importance of addressing dementia stigma as a critical step in this effort. The World Alzheimer Report 2024 provided a global perspective on changing attitudes towards dementia, highlighting the ongoing stigma surrounding the condition. In this year’s report, concerningly, the report found that an increasing number—65%—of health and care professionals worldwide incorrectly believe that dementia is a normal part of ageing. This underscores the crucial need to address prevailing misconceptions and inaccuracies about dementia that continue to affect those living with the condition, as well as their carers.
The theme of “Time to act on dementia”, “Time to act on Alzheimers” comes at a time when the number of people living with dementia is increasing, with an estimated 78 million people expected to be living with the condition by 2030. Time is indeed a critical factor: every three seconds, someone develops dementia, and the global action plan for dementia is set to expire in 2025. The stigma surrounding dementia hampers our ability to act and meet these challenges.
To launch our global campaign, ADI CEO Paola Barbarino issued a message to our global community, shedding light on the impact of dementia stigma.
“As we work to improve the lives of those living with dementia and carers, we must continue to address the stigma that still surrounds dementia, a stigma that knows no geographical boundaries. It is global. Dementia discrimination remains one of the greatest barriers to people seeking out information, advice, support, a timely diagnosis, treatment and care”
Alongside Paola, ADI welcomed global leaders support for this year’s campaign, including ADI Ambassadors Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan and Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera, former president of Costa Rica, as well as Dr Jabas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization, WHO.
Over the course of this month, ADI has witnessed numerous events, gatherings, interviews, memory walks, and illuminated buildings, all contributing to our global efforts to raise dementia awareness and reduce stigma. Our regional directors, Diego Aguilar for the Americas and DY Suharya for Asia-Pacific, have collaborated with ADI’s member associations in these regions to create impactful initiatives.
You can read the full highlights from the Americas and Asia-Pacific in our recent blog updates.
This month, we have also seen our member associations, along with many individuals, organising events to advance efforts towards National Dementia Plans (NDPs). On 20 September, in alignment with the release of this year’s World Alzheimer Report, ADI’s member association for Ukraine, Nezabutni, hosted a special NDP event that included the presentation of findings from the Attitudes to Dementia survey, based on data from over 700 respondents in Ukraine. The event also featured the “We Are: People with Dementia” photo exhibition, a creative initiative that portrays those living with dementia in a way that challenges the stigmatising perspectives often associated with the condition. This event by Nezabutni is just one of many observed by ADI from our member associations and the wider community, demonstrating a wonderful blend of initiatives.
In Africa, the Pelonomi Foundation in Botswana, who are participating in ADI’s Membership Development Programme, organised a memory walk. The walk, led by Kago Paledi, CEO of the Pelonomi Foundation, took place alongside many others globally on World Alzheimer’s Day, 21 September. This event in Botswana followed Kago’s participation as an expert guest on the panel for the World Alzheimer Report webinar launch, where he spoke about collecting over 400 national responses to the ‘Attitudes to Dementia’ survey.
In the Eastern Mediterranean region, ADI commends the efforts of both AACA Jordan and the Yemeni Foundation Against ALZ Dementia for hosting multiple educational events aimed at researchers, health and care practitioners and the general public to provide new insights and raise awareness of the condition.
Of course, it wouldn’t be World Alzheimer’s Month without global and national landmarks being illuminated to mark the importance of this month, as well as World Alzheimer Day on 21 September. This year was no exception, with wonderful images being shared from Oman, Puerto Rico. Singapore, Brazil, Jordan, Venezuela, Argentina, and India.
As this year’s World Alzheimer’s Month draws to a close, ADI would like to thank all who took part in this year’s campaign. No matter how big or small, every act taken has helped to create a truly global movement. The time to act is now, but our efforts will not stop here. We look forward to continuing our work, in collaboration with our global community in the coming months and years as we go forward, together.
All of this incredible awareness raising work would not be possible without the support of our World Alzheimer’s Month sponsors:
AbbVie, Acadia, Acumen, Biogen, BMS, C2N, Care UK, Eisai, GE, Life Molecular Imaging, Nutricia, MSD, Otsuka, Prothena, Roche, STEP.