The Punjab government has included dementia in its list of priority disease areas and a Provincial Dementia Plan is currently being developed to achieve tangible actions required to improve the lives of people with dementia, their families and care-partners in the country. Alzheimer's Pakistan secretary-general Dr Hussain Jafri says the Punjab government's decision has come at a time when the world governments are failing to address the dementia crisis according to a new report launched by the Alzheimer Disease International (ADI).
On the two-year anniversary of the World Health Organization's Global Action Plan on the public health response to dementia 2017-2025, Dr Jafri says the primary target to have 146 of the 194 member states develop a national response plan to dementia, is falling further behind.
Globally, he says, only 31 national plans exist, including just 26 WHO member states, while up to 34 are in development. In the last two years, he says, only two countries (Chile and Qatar) have created plans; meaning at the current rate the 2025 target will not be reached.
"Two years on from the commitment made by 194 countries at the World Health Assembly, the pace of progress is still too slow. World governments must recognise the crisis we're facing now and proactively work to ensure they're prepared for the dementia emergency at a national level," Dr Jafri quotes ADI CEO Paola Barbarino saying.