WHO have launched their first blueprint for dementia research

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have set out a blueprint to conduct more research into dementia following figures displaying only 1.5% of health research goes into the illness.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s Chief Scientist, has discovered dementia is the seventh leading cause of death globally yet the health condition is severely under researched.

Dr Swaminathan said: ‘Sadly we are behind implementing the global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017 to 2025. Addressing dementia comprehensively requires research and innovation to be an integral part of the response.’

She concluded that research must be conducted in an enabling environment, where collaborations are fostered, and equitable and sustained investment is realised.

Due to this, WHO have developed a blueprint for dementia research, designed to provide guidance to policy makers, funders, and the research community on dementia research. 

The blueprint recommends:

• Prioritising research and coordinating research activities for infectious diseases
• Considering the entire dementia research spectrum, incorporating diagnostics and therapeutics
• Encompassing epidemiology, health economics, care and carer research, risk reduction and brain health across a life span
• Providing insights into various drivers of research, such as sustainable funding, diversity and equity and the involvement of people with experience of dementia throughout the research and development process

Dr Ren Minghui, WHO’s Assistant Director General for Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases said: ‘We can achieve progress in dementia research by strengthening and monitoring the drivers of research highlighted in the blueprint so they can become the norm for good research practice.’ 

WHO are planning to work with stakeholders across health care sectors to ensure the actions highlighted in the blueprint are implemented, with the aim of improving the quality of life of patients with dementia and their friends and families.

Photo by Robina Weermeijer