One of Alzheimers New Zealand's core goals is to create a dementia-friendly New Zealand, a nation that caters well for the many thousands of people who are - and who will be affected by dementia.
As part of working towards this goal, we focus on four key streams of work:
- Strengthening the voice of people affected by dementia
- Supporting people affected by dementia to live well
- Lifting the quality of care and support
- Building resources, readiness and capability
At Alzheimers New Zealand, we advocate nationally on behalf of people affected by dementia - that's two out of three New Zealander's, and many thousands more will develop the condition over the next 30 years.
This will create significant challenges for families and for New Zealand as a whole. Dementia is one of our nation's biggest healthcare challenges and it will have major personal, societal and fiscal impacts on the years ahead.
This is why the work of Alzheimers New Zealand is so important. Our focus on people - on actively advocating for and supporting people living with dementia - is central to our mission.
One of our primary tasks is to provide high level policy advice and to ensure government, policy makers, key influencers and the country as a whole, know about the issues associated with the growing dementia burden - and the solutions to those challenges.
We are assisted by our consumer advisory group, and our professional, evidence-based approach to developing policy is why we are so well regarded by government and sector stakeholders.
Ours is an organisation with a national voice that can proudly say it is making a real difference to those people we care about most - those New Zealanders affected by dementia.