• It takes stock of progress made to date towards the 2025 global targets for dementia laid out in the WHO’s ‘Global Dementia Action Plan’ published in 2017.
• It uses data from WHO’s Global Health Estimates 2019 and the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 as well as from WHO’s Global Dementia Observatory (GDO).

Data includes issues ranging from national policies and diagnosis, treatment and care, support for careers and research and innovation. 

• So far, 62 countries have submitted data to the GDO, 56% of which are high-income and 44% low- and middle-income. 
• Together, these countries represent 76% of people aged 60 years or older.

Issue

• Four years ago, governments agreed on a set of targets to improve dementia care. 
• But targets alone are not enough. Concerted action is required to ensure that all people with dementia are able to live with the support and dignity they deserve

• According to the report, the number of people living with dementia is growing. 
• WHO estimates that more than 55 million people (8.1 % of women and 5.4% of men over 65 years) are living with dementia, 10.3 million in the Region of the Americas. 
• This number is estimated to rise to 78 million by 2030 and to 139 million by 2050.
• WHO’s Western Pacific Region has the highest number of people with dementia (20.1 million), followed by the European Region (14.1 million).
• Medication for dementia, hygiene products, assistive technologies and household adjustments are also more accessible in high-income countries, with a greater level of reimbursement, than in lower-income countries.
• Informal care accounts for about half the global cost of dementia, while social care costs make up over a third. 
• In low- and middle-income countries, most dementia care costs are attributable to informal care (65%). In richer countries informal and social care costs each amount to approximately 40%.

• More positively, countries in all regions have made good progress in implementing public awareness campaigns to improve public understanding of dementia, with strong leadership by civil society. 
• Two-thirds of countries reporting to the Observatory have run awareness-raising campaigns. 
• And two-thirds have taken action to improve the accessibility of physical and social environments for people with dementia and to provide training and education to population groups outside the health and social care sector, such as volunteers, police, fire services and first responders.

• The report highlights an urgent need to strengthen support at national level, both in terms of care for people with dementia and in support for the people, who provide that care in both formal and informal settings.
• Care required for people with dementia includes primary health care, specialist care, community-based services, rehabilitation, long-term care, and palliative care.
• The type and level of services provided by the health and social care sectors also determines the level of informal care, which is primarily provided by family members. 
• To have a better chance of success, dementia research efforts need to have a clear direction and be better coordinated,

• Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. 
• It’s the most common cause of dementia — a group of brain disorders that results in the loss of intellectual and social skills. These changes are severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life.
• In Alzheimer’s disease, the brain cells themselves degenerate and die, causing a steady decline in memory and mental function. 
• Current Alzheimer’s disease medications and management strategies may temporarily improve symptoms. This can sometimes help people with Alzheimer’s disease maximize function and maintain independence.
• But because there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, it’s important to seek supportive services and tap into your support network as early as possible.
• According to the US-based Alzheimer’s Association, there are over 4 million people in India who suffer from some form of dementia.

• Dementia is a syndrome and not a disease, which Alzheimer’s is. The two are, however, closely related. 
• Dementia’s various symptoms include loss of memory, thinking skills, problems with language, changes in the mood, deterioration in behaviour and an individual’s ability to perform everyday activities. 
• It is most commonly caused by Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for dementia in over 50-75% of the cases. 
• Dementia can be caused by other diseases such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease as well. It also has types, such as Lewy body and vascular dementia.