Women Foundation of Nigeria Makes Case for Alzheimer Patients

The Chairman and convener, Women Foundation of Nigeria (WFN), Iyom Josephine Anenih, has called for social support for caregivers attending to patients suffering from Alzheimer diseases, saying the burden of care giving takes a huge toll on the health and well being of caregivers.

Mrs Anenih, a former PDP Women Leader and former Minister of Women Affairs, who canvassed for various advocacy groups to be set up to seek for government intervention and allocation of resources to assist sufferers and caregivers, said it has become imperative to create awareness on Alzheimer’s diseases that was fast ravaging the young and old in the country.

“Alzheimer’s disease is a form a dementia among other dementias like Parkinson’s disease and Lewey Body Dementia.

It affects speech of the sufferer, such that the patient may find it difficult to remember common words. Ordinary forgetfulness which is termed ‘senior moments’ is quite different from Alzheimer’s .” Anenih said.

While speaking recently at a one day stakeholders roundtable organised by WFN in Benin City, with the theme, “The End of Alzheimer’s Starts with me”, said the aim of the roundtable meeting was to create awareness on the dreaded disease, which she noted affects both the young and the old.

“Before now Alzheimer’s was diagnosed as Senile dementia and it was thought that it affected only old people, therefore a disease for old people. It has now been found that Alzheimer’s does not discriminate as it can affect people as young as thirty years old.

It has been worthy of note that ‘any body who has a brain is at risk for Alzheimer’s dementia’.”

Expressing concern for early diagnosis of the disease, Anenih said there are warning signs which should never be ignored, adding that Alzheimer’s treatment will work better in the early stages when detected early.