Making dementia top of mind for Election 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that the upcoming general election will be held on Saturday 19th September 2020.
Ahead of this, we will be writing to each party to ask them to explain their position on dementia.
We will also give them the opportunity to tell us how and when they intend to adopt, fund and implement the NZ Dementia Action Plan, which is currently being finalized following a public consultation.
New Zealand’s population is ageing rapidly. In just a couple of decades’ time, it is expected that there will be three times the number of people living with dementia in New Zealand than there are today.
That is just the tip of the iceberg. For every person diagnosed with dementia there are family, whānau and friends also affected by the diagnosis.
As well as the human impact, there are significant financial costs associated with dementia. It presents a major challenge to our health system, with medical care for people with dementia in the last five years of life costing far more than care for other major conditions like cancer and heart disease.
With no cure or treatment for dementia on the horizon, this election is an opportunity for all parties to state their position for the new government to put into place measures to enhance services to reduce the adverse impact of dementia on the health system.
Crucially, this is an opportunity to vastly improve the lives and wellbeing for Kiwis who are affected by dementia, both now and in the future.
Whatever the outcome of the election, government has to act and act now. The dementia sector is more than willing to do its share of the heavy lifting, but we desperately need government to take the lead.