A new global multi-stakeholder partnership being launched is a promising – and necessary – step forward in the global effort to effectively combat Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

At the beginning of the last decade, in the summer of 2010, the trial for Semagacestat was canned. It was the story of the decade. There are good reasons to hope that it will not be the story of this decade. We are making progress. From the understanding of the basic science through to the development of new diagnostic tools and treatments, we are advancing. We are advancing our understanding of the development of the disease and the potential for lifestyle intervention. But today, for many people, care remains a huge challenge.

With ADI’s 34th International Conference taking place in Singapore in just two months’ time, I and the rest of the team are busy preparing ourselves for what promises to be a captivating few days. We are expecting over 1,200 delegates from over 100 countries, so it will truly be an international affair. The theme for this year speaks to the need for ‘new’ as we enter a new decade: Hope in the age of dementia. New science. New knowledge. New solutions.

The World Dementia Council’s review project into dementia friendly initiatives is preparing to publish its report in 2020. We have heard of efforts, large and small, taking place across all six continents of the world.

The World Dementia Council has held its 2019 summit — the legacy of the G20 Japanese presidency — in Tokyo, Japan. On 18 October 2019, international dementia leaders from government, academia, industry, public policy, civil society and those affected by the disease, gathered once again to reflect on progress made and how we can accelerate further progress towards developing treatments and improving the lives of people affected by dementia.

The point is often made that more than one hundred years after Alois Alzheimer’s first described the disease we can no more stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s today than we could at the start of the 20th century.

But perhaps this truism of repeated at conferences that has been uttered at conferences around the world is no longer so.

At the weekend, the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting was held in Okayama, Japan. The Japanese government made the challenge of ageing the focus of their G20 presidency. Although not a natural part of ageing, dementia and ageing walk hand-in-hand. The biggest risk factor for dementia is age. And dementia is among the biggest costs of ageing for health systems right across the globe.

As part of our ongoing review project, the WDC co-hosted a satellite roundtable event in Sydney, Australia, on 26 September 2019 with the Government of Australia, to discuss the evidence base for delivering dementia friendly initiatives.

The WDC is delighted to announce that five new individuals have been appointed to join the council. At the annual council meeting earlier last month, it was agreed that new members would be Paola Barbarino of ADI, Maryna Lehmann who is living with dementia, Huali Wang of Peking University, Shekar Saxena of Harvard University and Philip Scheltens of the University Medical Center Amsterdam.

As part of our ongoing review project, the WDC is co-hosting a satellite roundtable event in Sydney, Australia, on 26 September 2019 with the Government of Australia, to discuss the evidence base for delivering dementia friendly initiatives.