World Alzheimers Day – 21st September

Today, someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds. Dementia affects 80% of New Zealanders in some way. Most of us reading this know or have known someone with dementia – a friend, whānau member, colleague or neighbour.

All around the world, there is still a startling lack of global knowledge around dementia and a significant amount of social isolation, stigma and discrimination associated with dementia.

People with dementia often feel they have no control over, and involvement in, decisions that affect them.

With the right support, you can live well with dementia. But too often people with dementia and carers do not get the help they need.

We think it’s time for this to change. And we know lots of you feel the same way.

National dementia plan in the works

With this in mind, we are excited to update you on a three year National Dementia Plan which has been drafted in collaboration with the dementia sector, including dementia NGOs, clinicians, academics and providers.

The plan focuses on the most urgent actions to better support people living with dementia.

With no treatment or cure on the horizon, dementia is going to be one of the 21st century’s greatest global challenges for health and social care. It represents a major challenge for New Zealand and the current services are not capable of meeting the need.

We will be seeking your feedback on the draft Plan later in the year. For now, we wanted to share it with you so you can start to think about whether the proposed actions will make a difference for people living with dementia.

Thinking about the ways we can help make dementia top of mind should be a challenge for all of us as we enter the last week of World Alzheimers Month.

In fact, there’s lots we can all do to help remove the stigma associated with dementia within our whānau and local communities.

That’s why we are encouraging everyone to take at least one action this weekend to help make dementia top of mind. If you’ve got a minute, you could sign the Dementia Declaration on ActionStation or become a Dementia Friend.

Or, if you’ve got a little longer, join one of the Memory Walks taking place across the country this weekend or host a Cuppa for a Cause.

Whatever you do, be sure to Wear Purple in support of global dementia awareness.

For many, September is a time for action, a global campaign united in its call for change. But it’s also a time of reflection for the millions of people around the world, both young and old, who are affected by dementia.

Coming up

Launching in NZ next week, the World Alzheimer Report 2019 will publish the findings of the world’s largest survey on attitudes to dementia. The report will be presented to government at the Wellington Memory Walk to Parliament, which is taking place on Wednesday 25th September at 12.30pm.

Catherine Hall
Chief Executive, Alzheimers NZ