In 2017, all World Health Organization (WHO) Member States unanimously adopted the Global Action Plan on the Public Health Response to Dementia with the primary objective of National Dementia Plan implementation.
ADI’s From Plan to Impact reports indicate that Member States are struggling to achieve the goals of their plan. To address this issue, ADI launched the #WhatsYourPlan campaign in November 2021 to urge governments to commit to implementing NDPs. This report covers the campaign’s first year and its progress.
Some of the key points of the report include:
- 52 ADI Members joined the #WhatsYourPlan campaign, an increase from 30 in November 2021
- In the first year, 205 official communications were shared with Member States across the 52 countries
- ADI convened 29 high-level meetings with Ministries of Health
- 20 Member States committed to developing a National Dementia Plan
In its second year, the campaign will expand on previous efforts by launching public-facing media and social media awareness campaigns to call on the government to create plans in instances where ADI has identified Ministries of Health not fulfilling its 2017 pledge. Additionally, ADI will continue to utilise regional meetings, workshops and WHO global and regional meetings to increase awareness of the importance of National Dementia Plans while continuing to ask Member States: “What’s your plan?”
#WhatsYourPlan campaign
The #WhatsYourPlan campaign aims to work with and encourage Member States to implement NDPs following their unanimous adoption of the WHO Global Action Plan on the public health response to dementia in 2017.
The campaign has utilised a direct-action approach, with ADI working alongside the national member association to write to Ministries of Health or other relevant department to enquire about the status of NDPs and encourage the development of a plan where it is lacking. ADI has also arranged meetings with Ministry Officials to emphasise the importance of developing an NDP and provided technical advice and guidance on its creation, both in-person and virtually. These meetings have focused on prioritisation, best practice and shared learning.