Dutch Minister for Long-term Care and Sport, Conny Helder, was the keynote speaker at the Spring Meeting of the ABOARD project on 13 April 2023. She described her vision of the future of Alzheimer's care: To address the demand for care, we must focus on prevention, including both lifestyle and medication approaches. This aligns very well with the mission of ABOARD. In addition, she discussed international collaborations in the dementia field and her involvement in the World Dementia Council (WDC). At the end of this year, the WDC meets in the Netherlands for a summit and ABOARD hopes to be there! After her speech, the minister addressed questions from the audience on topics such as medication and lifestyle changes for prevention of dementia, culturally sensitive dementia diagnosis and care, and the challenges in delivering high-quality dementia care.
Nearly 100 project members came together to share results, strengthen connections and find inspiration for the future of Alzheimer's care. Knowledge exchange was fostered in different masterclasses provided by societal partners and small companies within the consortium. ABOARD, short for “A personalised medicine approach for Alzheimer’s disease”, is a public-private project which aims to prepare for a future in which Alzheimer’s disease is stopped before dementia has started. Public and private partners from the entire knowledge chain work together, from universities to healthcare and knowledge institutions, companies and civil society organisations. The project’s goals align closely with those of the Dutch National Dementia Strategy 2021-2030 of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and with those of Mission IV of Health~Holland's Knowledge and Innovation Agenda 2020-2023. Alzheimer Europe Director Jean Georges is a member of the project’s Advisory Board.
Find out more about the project, here: https://www.alzheimer-nederland.nl/onderzoek/projecten/aboard
