Following the re-election of Hans Kluge as Regional Director for the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe (WHO Europe), Alzheimer Europe has written to the Regional Director asking for dementia to be prioritised in WHO Europe’s policies. In the letter, Alzheimer Europe highlights the that the number of people affected by these conditions is expected to rise drastically in the coming decades, including our estimates that that the number of people living with dementia across Europe will nearly double by 2050 compared to 2018. The letter also expresses concern that the current approach to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) does not providing sufficient attention to dementia.
Specifically, "we highlight that while cardiovascular diseases and cancer are appropriately highlighted in the ‘Race to the Finish’ within the WHO's Special Initiative on NCDs and Innovation, there is a lack of a similar focus on neurodegenerative diseases. We therefore urge the WHO Regional Office for Europe to ensure that neurodegenerative diseases receive the attention they deserve in its policy recommendations and ask for neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia, to be included as priority topics for the upcoming 4th High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of NCDs."