The European Group of Governmental Experts on Dementia held an in-person meeting on 26 and 27 October in Dublin, Ireland, in advance of #36AEC. 19 European countries were represented at the meeting Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom (Scotland), in addition to representatives from JADE Health, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and from Alzheimer Europe.
Over the course of the two-day meeting, the group discussed issues relating to modifiable risk factors on dementia and population attributable factors in each country, the recent developments on access to disease modifying therapies, OECD data on care services and strategies across Europe, as well as the latest developments at an EU and international level.
National member organisations gave updates on the recent developments in their countries, primarily focused on dementia strategies, including a new national dementia strategy in Iceland and the development of a new strategy in Belgium (Flanders). Other countries provided updates on the status of the implementation of their strategies, including focuses on tools for carers, the development of dementia registries and services to support people with dementia to live well in their communities.
