Ten years on from the Glasgow Declaration (2014), dementia has been deprioritised at a European level and in many European countries. This has taken place despite the growing number of people living with the condition and the continued lack of access to diagnosis, treatment and care, which have been identified as long-standing challenges in countries across Europe.
In response, at our Annual General Meeting on 16 October 2023, in Helsinki, Finland, our members adopted the “Helsinki Manifesto”, which outlines the current position of dementia across Europe and lays the foundation for Alzheimer Europe’s campaigning activities over the next five years (2024-2029), in the run up to the European Parliament elections and the next term of the European Commission.
The Helsinki Manifesto is divided into the following policy areas:
- Health
- Research
- Disability and social rights
- Support for informal carers.
Under each policy area, a brief rationale for action is outlined, followed by a number of specific demands for European and national decisions-makers, including:
- Invest in improvements to support timely diagnosis, including access to imaging, biomarker testing and new treatment options
- An increase in the funding allocated for dementia research which is proportionate to its societal cost, bringing the total funding to at least the level of other non-communicable diseases
- The prioritisation of dementia in future health programmes with dedicated funding for projects and actions in line with other non-communicable diseases (e.g. cancer)
- The development and implementation of a European Dementia Action Plan, to coordinate efforts and programmes across the domains of health, research and social affairs.
The full manifesto and one-page summary can be downloaded below.
European and national organisations with a mutual interest in these policy areas are invited to endorse the Helsinki Manifesto, with organisations who have done so visible below. If your organisation would be interested in endorsing the Manifesto, please send an email to info@alzheimer-europe.org
To date, 83 European and national organisations have endorsed the Helsinki Manifesto
Accademia Scherma Milano, Italy | Imagine
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| Ace Alzheimer center, Barcelona | Imagine
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ADIS project | Imagine
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| AFA Fuengirola, Mijas Costa, Spain | Imagine
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AFA PArla, Spain
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| Alzheimer Austria, Vienna, Austria | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Bulgaria (Гражданско сдружение Алцхаймер България), Sofia, Bulgaria | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Croatia (Hrvatska udruga za Alzheimerovu bolest), Zagreb, Croatia | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Liga Vlaanderen, Belgium | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Nederland, Amersfoort, Netherlands | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Polska, Warsaw, Poland | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Schweiz Suisse Svizzera, Bern, Switzerland | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Society of Finland (Muistiliitto), Helsinki, Finland | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Guiden, Sweden | Imagine
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| Alzheimer Uniti Onlus, Rome, Italy | Imagine
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| Alzheimer's Care Armenia, Yerevan, Armernia | Imagine
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| Alzheimer's Disease International, London, England, UK | Imagine
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| Alzheimer's Society, London, England, UK | Imagine
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| Alzheimerforeningen, Copenhagen, Denmark | Imagine
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| Alzheimerfonden, Sweden | Imagine
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AENMA - Centro de día terapéutico, Madrid, Spain
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| ARAD (Associazione Ricerca Assistenza Demenze) APS ETS, Italy | Imagine
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| Asociación Alzheimer Valencia, Spain | Imagine
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| Asociación de Familiares de personas con Alzheimer y otras demencias de Barcelona | Imagine
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| Association Luxembourg Alzheimer, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | Imagine
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| Baluchon France, France | Imagine
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| BBMRI-ERIC | Imagine
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| Česká alzheimerovská společnost (Czech Alzheimer Society), Prague, Czech Republic | Imagine
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| Confederación Andaluza de Alzheimer (ConFEAFA), Spain | Imagine
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| Confederación Española de Alzheimer (CEAFA), Pamplona, Spain | Imagine
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COTEC - Council of Occupational
Therapists for the European
Countries, Germany | Imagine
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| Croatian Association for Alzheimers's Disease and Old Age Psychiatry | Imagine
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| DEMEDARTS project | Imagine
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| Demensförbundet, Stockholm, Sweden | Imagine
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| Dementia Jersey, St Helier, Jersey | Imagine
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| Dementia Lithuania (Demencija Lietuvoje), Vilnius, Lithuania | Imagine
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| Demenz Selbsthilfe Austria, Vienna, Austria | Imagine
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| Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft e.V. Selbsthilfe Demenz, Berlin, Germany | Imagine
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| European Academy of Neurology, EAN | Imagine
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| eBRAIN-Health | Imagine
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| Eurocarers, Brussels, Belgium | Imagine
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| European Ageing Network, Prague, Czechia | Imagine
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| European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA), Brussels, Belgium | Imagine
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| European Institute of Women's Health (EIWH), Dublin, Ireland | Imagine
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| Federació d'Associacions de Familiars d'Alzheimer, Spain | Imagine
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| Federazione Alzheimer Italia, Milan, Italy | Imagine
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| Fondation Médéric Alzheimer (FMA), France | Imagine
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| France Alzheimer & Maladies Apparentées, Paris, France | Imagine
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| Fundación Alzheimer España (FAE), Madrid, Spain | Imagine
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| Fundación de neurociencias, Spain | Imagine
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| HomeDem | Imagine
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| International Psychogeriatric Association, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |  |
| Ligue Nationale Alzheimer Liga, Brussels, Belgium | Imagine
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| Malta Dementia Society, Msida, Malta | Imagine
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| Medico e paziente, Italy | Imagine
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| Multi-MeMo project | Imagine
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| NEZABUTNI - Charitable Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine | Imagine
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| NGO Institute for Alzheimer’s disease and Neuroscience (IAN), Skopje, North Macedonia | Imagine
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| NGO Living with Dementia (Elu Dementsusega), Tallinn, Estonia | Imagine
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| Norwegian Health Association (Nasjonalforeningen for folkehelsen), Oslo, Norway | Imagine
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| Obras Sociais Viseu, Portugal | Imagine
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| Panhellenic Federation of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders ( Πανελλήνια Ομοσπονδία Νόσου Alzheimer και Συναφών Διαταραχών), Thessaloniki, Greece | Imagine
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| Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Spain | Imagine
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| Pattern-Cog | Imagine
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| Polskie Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Osobom z Chorobą Alzheimera, Warsaw, Poland | Imagine
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| PRIME (Prevention and Remediation of Insulin Multimorbidity in Europe) Consortium | Imagine
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| Radosny Dom Seniora (Poland) | Imagine
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| Reimagining Dementia: A Creative Coalition for Justice | Imagine
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| Serbian Society for Alzheimer Disease (SUAB), Belgrade, Serbia | Imagine
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| Slovenská Alzheimerova spoločnost, Bratislava, Slovakia | Imagine
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Spomincica - Alzheimer Slovenija, Lubljana, Slovenia | Imagine
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| Social Cluster Association, Budapest, Hungary | Imagine
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| SPF Seniorerna, Spain | Imagine
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| The Alzheimer Society of Ireland | Imagine
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| The Cyprus Alzheimer Association, Nicosia, Cyprus |
Imagine
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| Türkiye Alzheimer Derneği, Istanbul, Turkey |
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| Women's Brain Project, Gunterhausen, Germany | Imagine
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