November 28/29, 2018
Dementia Australia and Dementia Alliance International to globally champion rights of people living with dementia. Dementia Australia has formalised its relationship with Dementia Alliance International and today signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Dementia Australia CEO, Maree McCabe said the MOU recognises both organisations are aligned in their purpose to promote awareness and understanding of dementia and to advocate for the autonomy, independence and human rights of people living with dementia.
“We share a commitment and vision for a world where people living with dementia are valued, included and receive the care and support they choose,” Ms McCabe said.
Dementia Alliance International Chair, CEO and Co-founder, Kate Swaffer said the organisations would advocate together to expand the awareness and understanding of dementia across the aged care, disability and health care sectors in Australia and on the world stage.
“Together we will liaise on global dementia policy issues, to ensure our policies and programs are aligned to the WHO Global Dementia Action Plan” Ms Swaffer said.
Dementia Alliance International is the peak organisation with membership exclusively for people with a medically confirmed diagnosis of any type of dementia from all around the world.
“As the global voice of dementia, Dementia Alliance International provides a platform for the many people living with dementia who are capable of representing themselves, or speaking up for those who are no longer able to,” Ms Swaffer said.
“We have members in 48 countries, and self-advocacy is becoming a strong focus, where we work with members of Alzheimer’s Disease International, such as Dementia Australia, to empower others to have a voice.”
Worldwide it is estimated there are 50 million people living with dementia. This number will almost double every 20 years, reaching 131.5 million in 2050.
“According to Alzheimer’s Disease International research, someone in the world develops dementia every three seconds,” Ms Swaffer said.
Dementia Australia is the national peak body and charity for people of all ages, living with all forms of dementia, their families and carers. Dementia Alliance International is the global peak body representing people with dementia.
“Dementia Australia is the first national dementia association to partner with us, and DAI is very proud to be more formally working with them,”Ms Swaffer said.
“It is a natural fit for the two peak bodies to work together to promote awareness and understanding of dementia,” Ms McCabe said.
For further information visit the Dementia Australia website at www.dementia.org.au or Dementia Alliance International at https://www.infodai.org.
Dementia Australia is the national peak body and charity for people, of all ages, living with all forms of dementia, their families and care partners. It provides advocacy, support services, education and information. An estimated 436,000 people have dementia in Australia. This number is projected to reach almost 1.1 million by 2058. Dementia Australia’s services are supported by the Australian Government. www.dementia.org.au
Dementia Alliance International(DAI) is a collaboration of individuals diagnosed with dementia providing a unified voice of strength, advocacy, and support in the fight for individual autonomy for people with dementia. The aim is to bring the community composed of those with dementia together as one strong voice to urge the government, private sector, and medical professionals to listen to our concerns and take action to address this urgent global crisis. It is our firm belief that working together, we will identify concrete action for implementation with the international community, and in the process, ensure our human rights are being fully met. DAI is a registered charity in the USA, and the global voice of dementia. https://www.infodai.org
Dementia is a Global and National Health Priority Area
Media contacts: Louise Handran [email protected] +61 490 128 304 / Kate Swaffer [email protected]
When talking or writing about dementia please refer to Dementia Language Guidelines.
Image: Ms Maree McCabe, CEO, Dementia Australia and Ms Kate Swaffer, CEO, Dementia Alliance International, signing the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU)
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