India’s Health Minister Commits to Completing Dementia Action Plan

“Good advocates need to be convicted—convinced—of the moral purpose of their cause.” – Mike Splaine, pictured here with social work students from Christ College

This weekend marked a tremendous advocacy win for India. During the 22nd National Conference of ARDSI in Bangalore, Dementia 2018: Research, Implement, Improve, the country’s health minister attended the meeting and committed to completing a national dementia action plan.

In a country of 1.3 billion people — with 4.1 million estimated to be living with dementia, a number likely to double in the next 10 years — this commitment is truly a victory for India’s advocacy movement.

[Photo courtesy of Alzheimer’s Disease International]

“I believe there will likely be a strong risk reduction component in the national plan, tying in with India’s public health approach and their strong anti-tobacco activities,” said Mike Splaine, who was an international invited speaker at the Bangalore conference, where he spoke about the connection between advocacy skills and fundraising. “But equal emphasis will be given to supporting families and improving societal awareness of dementia issues,” Splaine added.

Stay tuned to our social media networks and this blog for more updates from India on this exciting step forward. Advocacy matters, and it makes a difference.

Pictured above: Mike Splaine with Amritha, a social work student, at Dementia 2018 in Bangalore this weekend. Splaine’s collaboration with students at the conference included discussions of dementia-related career paths and work at the social change level.

Picture above: Mike Splaine with pharmacy students from Bengal.