World Alzheimer’s Day (WAD) is annually observed across the globe on 21 September to raise awareness and challenge the stigma around Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, and other forms of dementia and unite efforts globally to combat the disease and improve care.
- WAD aims to educate people about Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, the significance of timely diagnosis and treatments, and promote support for those affected and their caregivers.
WAD is observed during World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign from Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) that takes place every September.
Note: ADI is the international federation of over 100 dementia and Alzheimer’s associations worldwide and is in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO).
World Alzheimer’s Month:
i.Every September, ADI organises the World Alzheimer’s Month campaign in collaboration with its member associations from all across the world.
- It is organised to highlight and campaign on specific issues which directly affect those living with dementia and their carers.
ii.The 2024 World Alzheimer’s Month campaign centers around the taglines ‘Time to act on dementia, Time to act on Alzheimer’s’.
iii.The focus of the 2024 World Alzheimer’s Month global awareness campaign is, ‘Attitudes to dementia’, emphasising the importance of understanding and addressing perceptions surrounding dementia.
- The campaign seeks to eliminate the stigma and misinformation associated with the condition, fostering a more dementia-friendly society.
Background:
i.World Alzheimer’s Day was launched at the opening of ADI’s annual conference in Edinburgh, Scotland on 21 September 1994 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ADI.
- ADI launched the first WAD on 21 September 1994 in association with the WHO.
ii.In 2010, the ADI launched the first World Alzheimer’s Month awareness campaign as a pilot campaign in 12 countries.
- Since 2011, World Alzheimer’s Month has been annually observed during September.
About Alzheimer’s disease & Dementia:
i.Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurologic disorder that causes the brain to shrink and slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.
ii.Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of Dementia, a term used for brain syndromes that impact memory, thinking, behaviour, and emotions, significantly affecting daily functioning and quality of life.
- Alzheimer’s disease accounts for an estimated 60% to 80% of people with dementia.
iii.Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German pathologist who identified an ‘unusual disease of the cerebral cortex’.
- It had affected the brain tissue of a woman Auguste D, who died of an unusual mental illness in 1906.
iv.The 3 categories of Alzheimer’s disease are Mild Alzheimer’s disease, Moderate Alzheimer’s disease, and Severe Alzheimer’s disease.
v.Some other common types of dementia are Vascular dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Mixed dementia, etc.
World Alzheimer Report 2024:
The World Alzheimer Reports are a comprehensive source of global socioeconomic information on dementia, published annually by the ADI. In 2009, ADI launched the first World Alzheimer Report on World Alzheimer’s Day.
i.The ADI launched the “World Alzheimer Report 2024: Global Changes in Attitudes to Dementia“ on the eve of World Alzheimer’s Day on 20 September 2024, highlighting the complex and persistent nature of stigma and dementia worldwide.
ii.The 2024 report acts as a five-year follow-up to ADI’s “Attitudes to Dementia Report 2019, establishing how the perception and attitude towards dementia have changed in 5 years.
iii.The report examines the results of an international survey analysed by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in London, England (the United Kingdom (UK)).
iv.Nearly 80% of the general public and, 65% of Health and Care Professionals (HCPs), still believe that dementia is a normal part of ageing, an increase compared to 66% and 62% in 2019 respectively.
v.In 2024, the number of people who believe that dementia is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle has increased to over 61%.
Key Facts:
i.According to the WHO, globally around 55 million people have dementia, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year, with over 60% living in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
- The number of people affected is set to rise to 139 million by 2050.
ii.According to the ADI:
- A new case of dementia arises somewhere in the world every 3 seconds.
- The annual global cost of dementia was estimated to stand at USD 1.3 trillion in 2019, which will more than double to USD 2.8 trillion annually by 2030.
About Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Paola Barbarino
Headquarters– London, the United Kingdom (UK)
Established – 1984
