THE DEMENTIA INDIA REPORT 2010 : Prevalence, impact, costs and services for dementia - AN EYE OPENER
• In 2010, there are 3.7 million Indians with dementia and the total societal costs is about 14,700 crore
• While the numbers are expected to double by 2030, costs would increase three times
• Families are the main carers and they need support
Meeting the challenge of dementia in India
It is estimated that over 3.7 million people are affected by dementia in our country. This is expected to double by 2030. It is estimated that the cost of taking care of a person with dementia is about 43,000 annually; much of which is met by the families. The financial burden will only increase in the coming years. The challenge posed by dementia as a health and social issue is of a scale we can no longer ignore. Despite the magnitude, there is gross ignorance, neglect and scarce services for people with dementia and their families. We know that dementia is not part of aging and is caused by a variety of diseases. We now have a range of options to treat the symptoms of dementia and offer practical help to those affected.
Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) the national voluntary organization dedicated to the care, support and research of dementia has been in the forefront to improve the situation since 1992. ARDSI is committed to developing a society which is dementia friendly and literate. This could only happen if we have the political commitment at all levels to provide a range of solutions that deliver a life with dignity and honour for people with dementia.
The ‘Dementia India Report’ is an ambitious visionary document calling for government and policy makers to recognize dementia as a health and social welfare priority by developing a National Dementia Strategy. The report has been put together after a series of consultations across the country from January 2009 to March 2010. The editors have used these consultations and the data available from the findings of the 10/66 Dementia Research Group worldwide, the ADI’s World Alzheimer Report 2009and from other research in India.
This is a significant step forward in dementia care movement in our country. Many countries like Australia, England, France, Norway, Netherlands, and South Korea have already recognised the problem and have devised national dementia strategies and have made dementia a national health priority. It is coincidental the Ministry of Health is about to launch the National Health care programme for the elderly. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has undertaken the revision of the national policy for older persons. This could be used as an advantage for promoting better dementia care in the country. It is our fervent hope that this report will prompt the government for setting up memory clinics and other care services at the district levels and a National Alzheimer’s Centre at the capital. We sincerely hope that the government will consider the recommendations seriously and include dementia care in the primary healthcare system.
Recommendations:
1 Make dementia a national priority
2 Increase funding for dementia research
3 Increase awareness about dementia
4 Improve dementia identification and care skills
5 Develop community support
6 Guarantee carer support packages
7 Develop comprehensive dementia care models
8 Develop new National Policies and Legislation for PwD
We are facing a public health and social care emergency and immediate action is
needed!
Alzheimer's Disease International’s :Global Alzheimer's Disease Charter
Six principles to make Alzheimer's disease and other dementias a global priority:
1. Promote awareness and understanding of the disease.
2. Respect the human rights of people with the disease.
3. Recognize the key role of families and carers.
4. Provide access to health and social care.
5. Stress the importance of optimal treatment after diagnosis.
6. Take action to prevent the disease, through improvements in public health.
I would like to congratulate the editorial and scientific team for producing this brilliant report, which is the first of its kind from a developing country. We hope that this will stimulate the government, policy makers, health care professionals, family members and other associations to action and collaboration.
CONSULTATIVE GROUP
The authors would like to thank the participants who took part in the meetings across the country for their inputs and suggestions:
Dr.Suvarna Alladi, Dr. Mathew Abraham, Mrs. Rukshana Ansari, Dr. Shelley P Bhaskara, Dr.Shirin Barodawala, Dr. K Chandrasekhar, Dr.Vijay Chandra, Dr. Mathew Cherian, Dr. V P Gopinathen (Rtd.), Dr. S D Gokhale, Dr. S A Hafiz,Prof. Ejaz Hussain,Dr. K V John,Dr. Mathew Kanamala,Mr. S N Kuckereja,Dr. Ninan Kurien,Dr. VinodKumar,Dr.P S Mathuranath,Dr. Radha Murthy,Mrs.Nilanjana Maulik,Mr. Sailesh Mishra,Mr. Deepak Naik,Sqn. Ldr. KAR Nair (Rtd.),Dr. Mini Nair,Mrs. Shobha R Nair ,Mrs. Nirmala Narula,Dr. Dilip Panikar,Dr. Subhangi Parkar,Ms. Jasmin Pawri,Dr.Charles Pinto,Mr. T.K. Radhamonie,Mrs. Indirani Rajadurai,Dr. K S Rajani,Prof. S Siva Raju,Prof. Prasun Roy,Mr. M M Sabharwal,Mr. Ravi Samuel,Dr. N N Sarangi,Dr. R Sathianathan,Dr. K Selvaraj,Dr. Bela Shah,Mrs. Urvashi Shah, Dr. Yogesh Shah,Dr. S Shaji,Dr. Mala Kapur Shankardass,Mr. Brahmanand Singh,Dr. Mathew S Thomas,Dr. Manjari Tripathi,Mrs. Seita Vaidialingam,Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Viswanathan,Dr. N.H. Wadia
Special thanks to:
Dr Neela Patel,Dr A.B. Dey and Dr E S Krishnamurthy;Mr Michael Splaine, Director, State Affairs, Alzheimer's Association, US;Ms Florence Lustman, Inspector general des Finances Chargée du plan Alzheimer,France; Mr Andrew ketteringham, Director External Affairs, Alzheimer’s Society, UK ; Mr Marc Wortmann, Executive Director,Alzheimer’s Disease International; Ms Daisy Acosta, Chairman, Alzheimer’s Disease International;
The report and related initiative was possible because of the generous funding support from Dr Raghunandan Gaind.
ARDSI acknowledges the financial assistance and support of:
• NISD, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
• World Health Organisation
• Alzheimer’s Disease International
• HelpAge India
• Eisai India Ltd
With a new case of dementia in the world every seven seconds , THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE.
Dr. K. Jacob Roy
National Chairman.
Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI)
Website: http://www.ardsi.org/index.html
Read complete Dementia India Report 2010: http://www.ardsi.org/assets/dementia.pdf
Read Summary - Dementia India Report 2010 :
http://www.ardsi.org/assets/report_summary.pdf
World Alzheimer Report 2010:http://www.alz.org/documents/national/World_Alzheimer_Report_2010_Summary%281%29.pdf
Silver Inning Foundation requests all the organization working for senior citizens, family members , care givers , social activist, youngsters , NGO’s, Government authorities ,UN and World Government to take serious note of this Dementia Report 2010 and support us to Fight Against Dementia.Let’s all of us come together and give New dimension to Dementia Care.
Sailesh Mishra
Founder President - Silver Inning Foundation
Founder – ARDSI Greater Mumbai Chapter
Website: www.silverinnings.com
1 comment:
Due to efforts of Ms.Vaishnavi Jeyakumar Dementia is included in the current census.In fact the older census order specifically excluded Alzheimer.Now that dementia is included, the effort of all those in the group is to get disability certificate under IDEAS SCALE(Indian disability evaluation assessment scale).this will facilitate help from the new PWDEA act 1995 being enacted with amendments.The families can get Income tax exemption and other benefits.
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