Malta at the forefront in pushing the dementia agenda forward on the international stage

For the first time ever, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Persons with Disability and Active Ageing hosted a workshop organised by the World Health Organisation on the implementation of the Global Action Plan on the Public Health Response to Dementia in European and Eastern Mediterranean regions. Besides the invited countries, this workshop was attended by experts in the dementia field as well as international associations representing people with dementia and their caregivers across the world.

Worldwide, approximately 50 million people live with dementia, a figure that is projected to triple by 2050. In 2015, the total global economic cost of dementia was estimated to be US$ 818 billion – or 1.1% of global gross domestic product. By 2030, this cost could reach a staggering US $2 trillion, which would undermine social and economic development globally. Currently, there are approximately 7,000 people with dementia in Malta with this number expected to double by the year 2050.

For the past years, Malta has been at the forefront in pushing the dementia agenda forward on the international stage. On 15 May 2017, the Presidencies of the Council of the European Union 2016-2017, The Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta signed a Joint Statement on Dementia calling on European Member States to: support international cooperation in dementia research, exchange and implement best practices in dementia care, diagnostics and prevention, support people with dementia to live the best possible quality of life, raise public awareness of dementia, and create dementia friendly societies. In May 2017, during the Seventieth World Health Assembly, Malta endorsed the global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017-2025; thereby committing to reaching global targets across seven key action areas, including the development of national strategies and plans.

The workshop provided an opportunity for participating countries to share good practices and lessons learned in areas such as dementia policy, risk reduction, diagnosis, treatment, care and support, support for dementia carers, and information systems for dementia. It brought together policymakers, civil society representatives, service providers, academics, people living with dementia and their caregivers. Main themes that emerged during these two days included the need of developing new/strengthening existing national dementia plans, or integrating dementia into existing ageing, mental health, disability or non-communicable diseases policies, the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Global Dementia Observatory as a means of strengthening countries’ capacity to develop, implement and monitor their response to dementia and the implementation of tools that support caregivers in their caring role, dementia diagnosis and prevention.

During the workshop, Malta highlighted a number of services that have been launched following the publication of its National Dementia Strategy in April of 2015 with the aim of improving the quality of life of individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. These include a 24/7 Dementia Helpline, training programmes for both formal and informal caregivers, the Dementia Intervention Team composed of a number of professionals working with individuals with dementia in the community and 13-episode programme on national TV to continue raising awareness among the public in general.