From Plan to Impact ‐ progress towards targets of the WHO Global action plan on dementia

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe WHO Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017‐2025 was universally adopted by Member States in 2017. Every year since, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) has produced the report ‘From Plan to Impact’ reviewing progress and barriers towards the goals of the plan, including the development of national dementia plans worldwide and shining a light on the challenges, responses and innovation around the COVID‐19 pandemic.MethodADI will conduct desk‐based research, distributing a survey to its 120 member associations. For non‐ADI Member states, further desk‐based research will be conducted by contacting associations, officials and ministries in those countries. The survey will predominantly seek to determine the status of a national dementia plan, or dementia integrated into another health plan (global action area 1), with further questions seeking to illuminate the remaining six action areas, including diagnosis, treatment, care, support, research, risk reduction and support for carers, and continuing to discover the impact, disruption and response to COVID‐19.ResultHabitual monitoring of the global national dementia plan environment has shown that new plans have been approved in Iran and Czech Republic. Armenia and Brazil appear to be making advances towards the implementation of their own national dementia plans. Preliminary findings suggest that Member States are likely to miss the target of 75% of countries (146) having a national dementia plan by 2025, findings mirrored by the WHO Global status report on the public health response to dementia, unless a concerted effort is made to rectify this. COVID‐19 has exposed inadequacies in the preparedness of governments to care for and support those living with dementia and their carers. We expect further granularity of data to become available throughout the development of the report.ConclusionOnly with robust national dementia plans can governments prepare their health and care systems to meet the needs of their population. This research and report will focus attention on those governments and areas where an acceleration to progress is required, identifying gaps and shining a light on best practice in other countries and regions that can act as a stimulus and motivation for others.