Time to speak up about dementia

Australia has the potential to influence how international governments deal with dementia when it takes to the world stage at this year’s Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Brisbane.

Alzheimer’s Australia has joined the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) in the campaign to place dementia on the agenda when the G20 meet this November to discuss economic issues of global importance.

The CHeBA petition implores the Prime Minister Tony Abbott to address dementia at the summit, elevating the global support and recognition that the disease demands.

A discussion of dementia would follow the lead of the British Prime Minister David Cameron at the recent Group of Eight (G8) Dementia Summit in 2013.

“This disease steals lives, wrecks families and breaks hearts,” Mr Cameron told the summit.

The meeting concluded with an impassioned pledge from the G8 countries to find a cure for dementia by 2025.

Yet research funding for dementia is still about one eighth of the amount reserved for cancer in high income countries.

Alzheimer’s Australia Chief Executive Glenn Rees said dementia care is currently costing the world more than US$600 billion.

In coming years the number of people with dementia will increase dramatically, bringing that figure up to $1117 billion by 2030.

“The economics of the global impact of dementia are staggering,” Mr Rees said.

By raising concern at the G20 Summit, Australia could bring the exponential costs of dementia to the attention of leaders of low and middle income countries, like China and India, where the greatest growth of people with dementia is occurring.

Mr Rees said the members of the G20 will account for 71% of the total world population of people with dementia by mid-century.

“The fight against dementia must be carried beyond the G8 to the G20 if we are to make a significant worldwide impact,” he said.

Organiser of the petition Perminder Sachdev said all the member countries must be made aware of the worldwide economic strain of dementia if something positive is to be done to fix it.

“Dementia is a global problem – not just a rich country’s problem.  This is what we wish to highlight at the G20,” Dr Sachdev said.

The CHeBA has secured more than 8000 signatures this month.

To help them reach their goal of 20,000 thousand, click here.