2024 Eastern Mediterranean Regional Workshop- Implementation of the Dementia Global Action Plan
The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health of the State of Qatar, the WHO Collaboration Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia, and the Hamad Medical Corporation, organized a two-day Eastern Mediterranean regional workshop in Doha, Qatar on 18 – 19 September 2024.
Aim of the workshop: To strengthened collaboration and inter-country exchange of good practices across four priority areas: dementia as a public health priority; dementia risk reduction; dementia awareness and friendliness; dementia diagnosis, treatment, care, and support.
Attendance: The workshop brought together 45 representatives including Ministry of Health representatives (19), NGOs (8), external facilitators (5), WHO country office representatives (8), representatives from the Eastern Mediterranean regional office (4), and a WHO headquarters representative.
Summary of discussion
The workshop took into consideration the unique needs and circumstances across the region and was informed by the second data collection round of the Global Dementia Observatory (GDO). When the workshop was conducted, 57% of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) had contributed their data to the GDO, compared to 38% participation in the first data collection round. Greater participation in data collection efforts indicates increased awareness about the importance of addressing and prioritizing dementia in the region.
Discussion points included:
- With only 38% of EMRO countries reporting having a national dementia plan, participants emphasized the importance of integrating dementia care into existing health systems and leveraging low-cost, high-impact strategies to address the growing burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
- The importance of prioritizing areas where countries can make progress even with minimal resources. This includes dementia risk reduction, dementia financing, dementia awareness and friendliness, and dementia diagnosis and treatment.
- The need to build on existing models of care while ensuring integration of dementia risk reduction activities across all levels of care, and social and health sectors.
- Participants discussed that lack of nationally available data, limited financial resources, competition with other health priorities and political instability in the region are among the major challenges for prioritizing dementia within health plans. More investment should be directed towards prevention, early identification, and provision of support through anonymous helplines.
Recommendations and future steps
- Hold bi-annual meetings to enhance regional collaboration
- Integrate dementia into broader health and social programs and invest in awareness campaigns to reduce stigma.
- Support the development of an expert group that works with technical leads from Ministries of Health and national chapters of ADI to support countries in implementing the action areas of the global action plan.
- Develop fellowship programmes for geriatric, psychiatry and dementia care and webinars to enhance knowledge on dementia care and support countries with limited resources
- Use cost-effectiveness analyses to advocate for policy changes and to incorporate dementia education into health professional training.
Post-workshop evaluations indicate the meeting provided a space for networking, with all participants indicating that they will be connecting with someone from the workshop. Additionally, all participants indicated that they feel better equipped to develop and implement dementia initiatives in their country as a result of the knowledge and skills gained from the workshop. Evaluation responses suggest that regional workshops are an effective way of strengthening regional collaboration and supporting countries with the implementation of the dementia global action plan.
WHO gratefully acknowledges the Public Health Agency of Canada for their support in building regional dementia capacity.