EU needs Alzheimer’s plan with concrete measures and deadlines, says EPP’s SANT coordinator [Advocacy Lab Content]

Europe needs a plan to address Alzheimer’s Disease that contains concrete measures, each with its own deadlines, and supported with proper funding, MEP Tomislav Sokol (EPP) told Euractiv.

Dementia is a general term referring to different brain diseases that affect memory and behaviour. Its most common form is Alzheimer’s Disease, a condition for which no cure exists. With dementia being Europe’s third leading cause of death, already placing a societal cost of €392 billion, the pressure is on member states to devise and implement national dementia plans to prepare for the future.

By 2025, 9.1 million people will be living with dementia in the EU and MEPs recognise that with an ageing population, this number will increase drastically. Projections by the umbrella organisation Alzheimer Europe show that in 2050, that figure is set to rise to 14.3 million.

“The fact is that Alzheimer’s Disease affects an increasing number of people,” Sokol told Euractiv, adding that Europe must work on developing an ambitious plan to address Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.

Organisations that have been working towards securing this prioritisation will be eager to see these words transferred to action after June’s EU elections that they feel mostly ignored adequate policy proposals to deal with conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer Europe said that dementia should have been given greater focus during the election period and within the manifestos of the European parties.

“Disappointingly, this was not the case and while matters relating to health were broadly present in manifestos, health policy was not at the forefront of this election,” Alzheimer Europe Policy Officer Owen Miller told Euractiv.

EPP spotlights Alzheimers

However, Miller said they were pleased to see a specific commitment to a European Dementia Plan within the manifesto of the European People’s Party (EPP). Their manifesto referred to ensuring the full implementation of the Beating Cancer Plan and added that the EPP wants to take the next step: developing a European plan to address Alzheimer’s.

“As the largest party in the European Parliament following the elections, we call on them to deliver on this commitment and to ensure that the voices of people with dementia and their carers help shape the plan,” Miller added.

Sokol reiterated that the plan is going to be a priority in the new parliamentary term.

“As the coordinator of the EPP Group in the Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT), I will strongly advocate for it,” he told Euractiv after his recent re-election to this position.

Alzheimer’s Europe also had over 300 candidates sign their latest Dementia Pledge along with around 7,400 people who signed a similar call to action. This shows there is a demonstrable breadth of support for dementia to be prioritised at the European level, the organisation said.

Europe a global leader

On a global level, Europe is at the forefront when it comes to having dementia plans. A status report by the WHO said the global distribution of national dementia plans is uneven with half of them coming from Europe. However, there is still room for improvement.

“Within the European Region, many plans are expiring, or have expired, and require renewed commitment by governments to prioritise dementia,” the WHO said.

When comparing European dementia policies and strategies, Alzheimer Europe highlighted a clear divide between the progress being achieved in the east and west of Europe, with the western and northern parts of Europe scoring higher than their neighbours.

Analysing results evaluating the recognition of dementia as a national policy and research priority, show the top EU performers were Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden in joint second place just behind Scotland. The EU’s worst performers were Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.

Overall, the organisation found that the number of countries with an ongoing dementia strategy had dropped from 26 in 2020 to 22 in 2023. Of those with a strategy, only 10 reported they had dedicated funding attributed to the strategy.

Miller said the organisation believes that member states should take advantage of EU funding streams to meet WHO targets.

On 21 September, World Alzheimer’s Day, Alzheimer’s Europe is set to formally re-establish the European Alzheimer’s Alliance (EAA), a cross-party alliance of MEPs. This will coincide with the run-up to the European Parliament hearings for Commissioners designate.

“It is our hope that our EAA members will be able to press the prospective Commissioners into explaining how dementia will be prioritised by the Commission’s work in the next five years,” Miller said.

[By Christoph Schwaiger | Edited by Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]

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