Washington, DC – UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced new plans on Saturday to tackle dementia in the “The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020,” the UK Government’s bold dementia agenda for the next five years. The Challenge envisions that by 2020 England will be the global leader in dementia care and research related to dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. The Government will spend 3 million pounds (US $4.6 million) on dementia research, train all National Health Service staff on how to give those with dementia the best possible standards of care, and establish an international dementia institute in England, among other things.
“Prime Minister Cameron is leading the world in fighting dementia,” said George Vradenburg, convener of the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) on Alzheimer’s Disease and co-founder of USAgainstAlzheimer’s. “The Challenge will heighten the focus on dementia in the UK and globally. I’m honored to work with the Prime Minister and his government through the CEOi and the World Dementia Council.”
“On behalf of CEOi, I commend the Prime Minister’s leadership. Working together, across borders and sectors, we can transform the fight against Alzheimer’s by improving drug development, driving forward patient-centric care, and supporting those caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s,” said Vradenburg.
Prime Minister Cameron has made fighting dementia a personal priority, launching a national challenge to fight dementia in 2012 and forming the World Dementia Council to support implementation of the G8 goal to stop Alzheimer’s by 2025. In a letter to Vradenburg in April 2014, Cameron emphasized the importance of industry involvement. “We have to make investments in dementia research a more active proposition, particularly given the level of risk involved for private investors in respect of our current level of knowledge.” Cameron also thanked Vradenburg for serving on the World Dementia Council saying, “we must work together to reverse the tragic human cost of dementia, including cross-sector partnerships spanning life science, healthcare, home care, social care and wellbeing.”
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The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease (CEOi) is a patient-powered industry coalition of private-sector leaders who have joined together to provide business leadership in the fight against Alzheimer’s. The CEO Initiative seeks to partner with public leaders to transform the disease from a social, health, and economic crisis into an opportunity for healthy aging and innovation in research and care. In this era of aging populations, The CEO Initiative believes that it will take visionary, action-oriented leadership of public and private leaders working together to solve our greatest challenges. Learn more at: www.ceoalzheimersinitiative.org.