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WHO event addressing public health priorities

Citation: World Health Organization. Multiregional workshop on the implementation of the global action plan on the public health response to dementia. East Mediterr Health J. 2023;29(4):302–303. https://doi.org/10.26719/2023.29.4.302

Copyright © Authors 2023; Licensee: World Health Organization. EMHJ is an open access journal. This paper is available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).

¹Summary report on the Multiregional workshop on the implementation of the global action plan on the public health response to dementia, Doha, Qatar 9–11 May 2022. https://applications.emro.who.int/docs/WHOEMMNH229E-eng.pdf.

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Introduction

Dementia is the seventh leading cause of death and a leading contributor to disability worldwide (1). The Eastern Mediterranean Region is one of the 3 WHO regions accounting for one-third of over 55 million people living with dementia worldwide, and one of the low- and middle-income countries in which the proportion of people living with dementia is expected to increase from around 61% to over 70% by 2030 (2). The total economic burden due to dementia globally in 2019 was estimated to be US$ 1.3 trillion and this is expected to more than double by 2030 (3). Although there has been some progress in implementation of the “global action plan on the public health response to dementia (2017–2025)”, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2017, there is still a gap in prevention and care for people with dementia (4).

In May 2022, WHO and Qatar Ministry of Public Health held a workshop to build country capacity to develop, implement and monitor national dementia action plans and to integrate dementia into existing ageing, mental health, disability, or noncommunicable disease (NCD) policies. Sixteen countries from WHO African, European and Eastern Mediterranean regions, as well as representatives of civil society organizations, participated in the workshop.

Summary of discussion

This multiregional workshop was critical for accelerating implementation of the “global action plan on the public health response to dementia (2017–2025)”. There was cross-country and cross-regional exchange of knowledge, good practices and lessons on dementia policies, risk reduction, diagnosis, treatment, care, support, information systems, research, and innovations.

One key lesson was the need to identify and engage multisectoral and multicountry stakeholders, including governments and professional mental health associations, for effective advocacy and policy and to leverage available resources for dementia control. Another lesson was the need to prioritize cost-efficient activities such as awareness-raising to foster greater understanding, challenge stigma and address the specific needs of caregivers and people living with dementia. Adapting existing screening tools will help in risk reduction for all age groups.

The Global Dementia Observatory (GDO) exists to support reporting, research and monitoring of dementia and to strengthen the ability of countries to respond to the needs of people with dementia as well as their caregivers and families (5). Countries are encouraged to participate and contribute to the observatory. Countries can use their national health survey data to assess the key policy issues and should ensure that dementia data and indicators are included in national health information systems, including primary care and specialist data.

Recommendations

Member States were requested to include dementia in their national training curricula and for all cadres of healthcare workers, strengthen multisectoral collaborations on dementia, and review and update their mental health legislations to ensure the protection of the rights of people living with dementia and their caregivers.

WHO was requested to make dementia a health priority and engage more proactively with Member States, global and regional partners, as well as people with dementia and their caregivers, in implementing the “global action plan on the public health response to dementia (2017–2025)”; support Member States in developing their national dementia action plans; collaborate and coordinate with civil society organizations in developing a working package on mental health and well-being for older adults; coordinate with the newly designated “WHO Collaborating Centre on Dementia” in Qatar for knowledge and learning exchange; and share good practices on dementia among the stakeholders.

References

1. GBD 2019 Collaborators. Global mortality from dementia: Application of a new method and results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Alzheimers Dement 2021;7(1):e12200. DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12200.
2. World Health Organization. Dementia. Geneva: World Health Organization, 15 March 2023. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia.
3. GBD 2019 Dementia Forecasting Collaborators. Estimation of the global prevalence of dementia in 2019 and forecasted prevalence in 2050: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Public Health 2022;7:e105–25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/.
4. World Health Organization. Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017–2025. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2017. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259615/9789241513487-eng.pdf?sequence=1.
5. World Health Organization. Global Dementia Observatory. Geneva: World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/global-dementia-observatory-gdo.