The Association Dominican of Alzheimer He called on the authorities of Ministry Public Health to execute the Dementia Response Planin order to impact the population affected by this disease and raise awareness among citizens about the ways to prevention.
According to the organization, the program was formulated and approved in 2020, but has not yet been implemented due to lack of financingwhich harms the families Dominicans who live with this condition.
“We need the authorities of the Ministry Public Health put into operation the National Dementia Plan“We know that there are many challenges and goals in the country, but patients, family members and caregivers need this plan to be operational,” said Mercedes Bruno, president of the association.
The expert explained that this government project would make visible the problemwould eliminate risk factors, would educate the population on the subject and would offer a better structure of attention at the national level.
According to projections of the Ministry of Public Healtharound 90 thousand people suffer from dementia in the country, a figure that could increase to 125 thousand by 2030 and 241 thousand in 2050.
Bruno added that these diseases especially affect the most vulnerable sectors of the societydue to the high cost involved in caring for a patient with Alzheimer.
“There is a lower class that says: ‘No, but if she is not going to get better, why am I going to take her to the doctor?’, and they don’t take her. Or there is also the case of those who cannot afford to buy the treatment because it is very expensive,” he said.
The average annual cost to care for a patient with dementia exceeds the $2,300according to statistics officials, an expense that often falls on the immediate family members of those affected.
The Association Dominican of Alzheimer recommended to the population doing physical activity, taking care of your mental health, controlling blood pressure, avoiding smoking and taking other wellness measures to prevent this disease.
Day World Cup of Alzheimer
Within the framework of the Day World Cup of Alzheimerheld on September 21, 104 organizations from all over the world were invited to carry out a hike with the aim of raising awareness about the effects of this disease.
In the Dominican Republic, the demonstration started from the Independence Park and ended in the Colon Park, where a discussion was held on this issue. diseasetheir causes and the forms of prevention.
The Association Dominican of Alzheimer He also extended a message of support to the families who live with this conditionwhich affects almost 47 million people worldwide.
Mercedes Bruno reiterated the importance of adopting habits healthy to mitigate the effects of the dementia.
He also stressed that the population You must be attentive to the signs of alertamong which he mentioned: memory loss that affects daily functions, difficulty performing tasks, problems with language, and temporal or spatial disorientation.
Plan National of Dementia
He Plan Response to Dementia is an initiative of the Ministry of Health Public that contemplates actions to combat the disease from 2020 to 2025. Although no clear goals are set, policies Specifically, the plan considers four lines of action that encompass the objectives to address this problem.
The first line of action is the strengthening of the policies public of prevention and attention at dementias with a rights-based approach. The second line refers to the promotion of health and the prevention of the dementias in a community context.
The third axis is focused on the management of coverage and access to attention for people living with dementiatheir families and caregivers. Finally, the fourth point contemplates the implementation of a system of informationmonitoring, evaluation and research.
