Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) today warns that the world is heading towards a global health crisis, with just 45 (23%) of the World Health Organization’s 194 Member States having a national dementia plan in place despite unanimously pledging to do so by 2025.
The stark finding appears in ADI’s new report, From Plan to Impact VIII: Time to deliver, released ahead of a crucial vote at the 78th World Health Assembly later this month. ADI is calling on all governments to vote to extend the WHO Global Action Plan on dementia until 2031 and to fund concrete action immediately.
Across the world, someone develops dementia every three seconds. It is the seventh leading cause of death globally and, published forecasts suggest, this will rise to the third leading cause of death by 2030. By this time, 78 million people will be living with dementia at an annual cost $2.8 trillion globally. In $1 bills, that would stack 7 times around the earth’s equator and is equivalent to the UK’s national debt.
“Dementia is more of a global health crisis today than it was in 2017 when the global action plan was adopted,” says Paola Barbarino, ADI CEO. “Not extending this vitally important Global Action Plan would undermine the progress we have made in the past 8 years and limit the potential for governments to stem the tide that is coming.”
Adding further importance to the issue of dementia globally remaining a top priority, the WHO was forced to revise its financial plans this year after the United States, formerly the organisation’s biggest funder, pulled out in January 2025. The US had previously covered nearly a fifth of the WHO’s budget.
“Funding cuts to the World Health Organization are seriously bad news for our movement. Without support for the Global action plan, we would lose a precious tool to advocate on behalf of the weakest amongst us and the leverage to engage with governments productively on the development of their national dementia plans.” Continues Barbarino.
According to survey data from the World Alzheimer Report 2024, more than 90% of carers and respondents from the general public said they would be encouraged to get a diagnosis if a disease-modifying treatment for dementia was available. New disease-modifying therapies and blood-based biomarker diagnostic tools have received regulatory approval in several countries. Despite this progress, ADI says governments globally are not prepared.
“Even with a low target of diagnosing half of people currently living with dementia, the fact is Member States have not reached this target. This means more than half of people living with dementia won’t have access to new treatments, new diagnostics, and to vital care when they become available. National Dementia Plans are crucial to ensure this changes,” Barbarino says.
ADI says that in order to achieve the vision of the Global dementia action plan beyond 2025, countries must prioritise dementia in local and global agendas and commit resources to its implementation.
“From Plan to Impact data indicates that just 23% of countries have dementia plans – either stand-alone or integrated. Countries with national dementia plans are more likely to meet other key dementia targets, highlighting the importance of formulating robust national responses to dementia,” continues Barbarino.
It’s not all bad news, ADI says. Since its inception in 2017, national plans have been launched in countries of all sizes, from Brazil and China to Qatar and Singapore. Early support from countries such as France and the United Kingdom have ensured a global focus on dementia, and governments including Australia, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands have championed the cause. While progress is being made, ongoing resources are required to support the implementation of these plans and take policy from paper to practice, to deliver meaningful change for those living with dementia and their carers.
G7 and G20 presidencies have elevated dementia, including the Okayama Declaration under Japan’s G20 leadership in 2019 and successive G7 commitments under the presidencies of Japan in 2023 and Italy in 2024.
“There are grounds for hope. Many states have come good on their commitment and developed plans, importantly capturing the voices, experience, and advice of people living with dementia and their carers. This real-world experience is incredibly valuable in designing robust plans”, Barbarino adds.
ADI says that while the Global Action Plan on dementia has not galvanised member states enough to reach targets, it has been a valuable compass since 2017. While the expiration of the Global Action Plan sets a hard deadline, the extension would give governments globally six extra years to make real progress, rebuild momentum, and renew commitment.
Barbarino ends: “Things are starting to change, and the lives of millions of people are in the balance. To lose this momentum would be a catastrophe and to use an extension as an excuse for further inaction, unforgivable. Dementia is everyone’s business. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, dementia remains an undeniable public health crisis that must be addressed head on by governments and civil society, working hand in hand to secure better prospects for people living with dementia, today and tomorrow.”
Alzheimer’s Disease International will launch From Plan to Impact 2025 at the 78th World Health Assembly on 21 May 2025. The event will feature a panel discussion moderated by ADI CEO Paola Barbarino, with senior WHO officials, ministers of health, WHO Patron for Nursing and Midwifery and ADI Ambassador Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan, and Conny Helder, former minister of health of the Netherlands, members of ADI, advocates and other senior ministry officials.
