A seven-year National Dementia Strategy was introduced today with the launch of a public consultation exercise that will remain open until 30 November.

The strategy’s implementation will serve beween 2024 and 2031, Active Aging Minister Jo-Etienne Abela said. The strategy is intended to provide government’s direction to better aid those members of society who suffer from – or live with – someone with dementia.

The Active Ageing Minister said that the scope of this strategy is “that our country offers a service that is second to none” for victims of the illness and that this strategy is of utmost importance to those at the top of the executive branch.

The strategy aims to see that “dementia is prevented and people with dementia and their caregivers live well and receive the care and support they need to fulfil their full potential with dignity, respect, autonomy, and equality.” In this context, it was clarified that dementia is an umbrella term being utilised for the numerous brain diseases that affect one’s memory, behaviour and other cognitive abilities that significantly affect a person’s daily life.

Minister Abela told the health professionals, academics, and journalists in attendance that Malta’s ageing demographic means that cases of dementia are set to almost double by 2040; while 7081 persons were registered to suffer from dementia in 2018, it is predicted that by 2040, this number increases to just under 14,000 persons. “Today’s youth are tomorrow’s elderly,” said the Minister.

As a result, the Minister iterated that this is why this national strategy is seven years long, because with the long-term targets and the scope behind it, a short-term plan would be ineffective to the goals at hand.

Abela described the necessity to not shy away from the fact that the Maltese islands have an ageing population, as doing so will only make it more difficult to ease the lives of those affected by this brain syndrome.

This 7-year plan is designed to address seven challenges for those living with the brain syndrome – these challenges are what designed each of the seven respective Action Areas for this national strategy.

The Action Areas within this national strategy are titled: Awareness and Understanding of Dementia, Reducing the Risk, Timely Diagnosis, Living well with Dementia, Work Force Development, Dementia Management & Care, and Research & Information Systems.

Minister Abela highlighted the importance of raising awareness not only within society, but also among health professionals. He said that if awareness is not pushed forward first, the care provided to dementia patients will not be of the desired top-level and thus, the effects of the objectives being put forward will not be as effective as they should be.

Since different societal groups have different needs, the minister said, this strategy has also ensured that its objectives effectively impact the whole of society. Therefore, four societal groups were identified in order not to be excluded from any of the objectives within this seven-year plan, namely: those suffering from early on-set dementia, people with both learning disabilities and dementia, LGBTIQ+ persons with dementia, and migrants living with dementia.

He said that since this is not an illness which is curable with today’s technology, it is important that patients and their carers learn to live with it in a healthy manner. Henceforth, the Minister mentioned the importance of research within the field, stating that the government is ready to offer “all the resources necessary” to academics at the University of Malta who wish to conduct research within this field.