The article reveals a startling lack of awareness about dementia in many countries, highlighted by a meeting with a health minister unfamiliar with the term. Alzheimer's Disease International's report indicates that many healthcare professionals believe dementia is a normal part of aging. Contributing factors include complex biological causes, stigma, and a lack of organizational support until the 1980s. The piece argues that the World Health Organization and United Nations need to classify dementia as a major non-communicable disease to improve recognition, care, and support.
In my view, the condition's invisibility is also partly attributable to a failure of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations to class dementia as one of the world's deadliest non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Inclusion of dementia in these organizations' discussions about NCDs could drastically change attitudes worldwide.
There's a stigma associated with the condition that can make people unwilling to engage. And, perhaps because of this stigma, the first organizations to support and advocate for people with dementia weren't set up until the 1980s - decades after comparable ones for people with cancer.
#dementia-awareness #world-health-organization #non-communicable-diseases #health-policy #stigma-in-health
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