In the run-up to the Spanish general election of 23 July 2023, the Confederación Española de Alzheimer (CEAFA) – the Spanish Confederation of Alzheimer's and other dementias – released a statement, on 19 July, highlighting that it was disappointed that measures related to the growing problem of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other types of dementia were a glaring omission from the political agenda, with a clear lack of such measures in the manifestos of the main political parties. There was not even a mention of either “Alzheimer’s” or “dementia” in any of these manifestos. Almost five million people live with AD or other types of dementia in Spain and, according to data from the Spanish Neurology Society, every year some 40,000 new cases are diagnosed. On top of this, it is estimated that 80% of those that are still in the early stages of the disease remain undiagnosed, making this a vital and urgent problem to tackle.
CEAFA argued that continuing to postpone measures to lessen the impact of dementia could have serious social, health and economic consequences, and suggested addressing dementias as a social and health priority of the first magnitude, with appropriate responses, shaping methodologies and strategies for intervention and interdisciplinary coordination, in order to move towards more comprehensive and dementia-friendly society and environment. Finally, CEAFA urged the different political groups to re-evaluate their health and social policies and encouraged them to include in their proposals coverage and protection systems, as well as measures to promote biomedical and social research that could offer a cure for AD and improve quality of life for people with this and other types of dementia.