Dementia report exposes urgent policy failure in New Zealand
Alzheimers NZ says New Zealand is being left dangerously unprepared for a dementia crisis that will overwhelm families, communities, and the health system unless Government takes urgent action.
The warning comes as Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) releases its World Alzheimer Report 2025, which makes a strong case for investing in community support services – what it calls ‘rehabilitative services’.
These services work with people living with dementia to improve or maintain their functioning in everyday life, build on their strengths and find ways to compensate for impairments – all to support their independence and wellbeing for as long as possible.
It’s exactly what New Zealand’s 17 community-based Alzheimers and dementia support organisations try to do – if they weren’t woefully under-funded and under-resourced, says Alzheimers NZ’s chief executive, Catherine Hall.
These community services provide lower-cost, non-pharmacological support services that help people living with dementia remain as independent as possible for as long as possible.
Importantly, they also keep people out of the much more expensive hospital and aged care systems for as long as possible, greatly relieving the growing strain on those fragile services, and reducing system costs.
But Alzheimers NZ’s calls for fair and appropriate funding for these services continue to be ignored. For example, the community service in Wairarapa gets no Government funding at all and in South Canterbury the community service gets only six per cent of their funding from Government. They both depend on the generosity of their communities just to stay open, as do the other community dementia services across New Zealand.
“It’s just nuts,” Hall says. “Community dementia services are an investment not a cost.
“The problem is that health policy in New Zealand still prioritises expensive hospital services. And because of that there’s no commitment to scaling up the cheaper, better and more efficient community services!
“So, not only is it a circular argument, it’s also very disappointing and dispiriting, especially when you know there’s a far more equitable and affordable way … but no one will listen.”
Hall says funding community services also supports the dementia-related initiatives outlined in the Government’s New Zealand Health Plan 2024-2027, including:
- Point 5.1.9 Improve the effectiveness of community care to support older people to maintain independence, self-care, and connection with family, whānau and communities
- Point 5.1.11 Managing the growing prevalence of dementia by implementing and evaluating the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan.
Hall says the ADI report further underlines what New Zealand’s dementia sector has been saying for years: “Dementia is a national health emergency, and New Zealand still has no funded, implemented plan to deal with it.
“It’s a glaring policy gap. We have the chance to learn from international evidence and lead with innovation. But without political will and investment, the health system, the care sector, and thousands of New Zealand families will continue to struggle unsupported.”