Introduction
On 12 April 2021, the government of the Czech Republic approved the National Action Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Illnesses 2020-2030. The Plan was developed according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Towards a dementia plan: a WHO guide. The content, identified through a situational analysis and debated by a broad stakeholder platform, reflects the needs of people living with dementia and their caregivers, as well as professional care providers.
Importantly, the Plan was developed in cooperation of two ministries, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor Social Affairs, to bridge existing barriers between health and social services. Beside national experts, we built on experiences and feedback provided by our colleagues during meetings organised by the WHO and Alzheimer Europe.
Strategic objectives
The Plan reacts to the situational analysis by setting five strategic objectives:
- Developing interdisciplinary recommendations and strengthening the network of health and social services accordingly
- Providing appropriate education to both professional and informal caregivers
- Setting a system of continuous epidemiological surveillance and research agenda
- Increasing dementia awareness and promoting prevention
- Better protecting rights of people living with dementia.
These objectives will be achieved through approximately fifty specific activities implemented in this decade.
The plan builds on the work of the first National Dementia Strategy, which ran between 2016 and 2019.
Both plans can be downloaded below.