WISH pledges to fight dementia at first WHO ministerial meeting
WISH joins WHO in bringing the burden of dementia to the global stage
DOHA: The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), has lent its support to the first ever ministerial meeting on dementia led by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. Following the recent publication of the WISH 2015 report ‘A Call To Action: The Global Response To Dementia Through Policy Innovation’, a delegation from WISH participated in the WHO’s inaugural Ministerial Conference on Global Action Against Dementia on 16 and 17 March 2015.
Supported by the British government’s Department of Health and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the two-day meeting brought together more than 400 policymakers, healthcare experts and NGOs from 80 countries, to address the increasing global threat posed by dementia and its impact on health and development.
Through its participation on this global stage, WISH highlights Qatar Foundation’s mission to inspire and promote healthcare development and reform through a global network of high-level policymakers, academics and industry leaders. It remains closely aligned to the vision and mission of QF to unlock human potential and underscore Qatar’s pioneering role as an emerging centre for healthcare innovation. WISH has held its last two summits in the Qatari capital Doha.
Participants at the WHO conference signed a call for action against dementia. The document has called for the following actions: Raising the priority accorded to global action against dementia on the agendas of relevant high-level forums and meetings of national and international leaders; strengthening capacity, leadership, governance, and partnerships to accelerate responses to address dementia; facilitating the coordinated delivery of health and social care for persons with dementia; advancing prevention, risk reduction, diagnosis and treatment of dementia, consistent with current and emerging evidence; facilitating technological and social innovations to meet the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers; promoting a better understanding of dementia, raising public awareness and engagement and increasing collective efforts in dementia research.
‘Dementia affects the entire family’
Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director, Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, WHO, and Mental Health Forum Co-chair, WISH, said: “Dementia is a burden and overwhelming not only for the individual who has dementia, but also for their caregivers, families and society as a whole. There is often a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia, resulting in stigmatisation and barriers to diagnosis and care. No treatments are currently available to cure or even alter the progressive course of dementia, although many new therapies are being investigated in various stages of clinical trials. There is, however, much that can be offered immediately to support and improve the lives of people with dementia and their caregivers and families.”
Engineer Saad Al Muhannadi, President of Qatar Foundation, said: “The social and economic burden of dementia is clear and our WISH report, published just last month - acts as a timely precursor to the urgency demonstrated at this week’s WHO meeting. Through our research, Qatar Foundation continues to lead the way in healthcare innovation, offering evidence-based, actionable recommendations to health ministers and policymakers globally so that we may all work together to reduce the prevalence and burden of this disease.”
Mr Egbert Schillings, CEO of WISH, said: “We are faced with a disease that is set to double every 20 years and yet there is no cure, no action plan and no sign of the rampant growth in diagnosis abating. This week’s meeting is less a cry for help and more a call to arms, because only by combining our efforts and sharing our victories will we succeed in moving the needle on this chronic social and economic challenge. I hope through our research at WISH, we promote a greater understanding that is needed to tackle this truly global disease.”