Ageing Minister on limits to dementia research funding
Australian scientists and medical researchers are calling for a quadrupling of research funding to $100 million annually, to tackle dementia, described as the chronic disease of the 21st century. Current funding for dementia research in Australia is a quarter of that.
But Mental Health and Ageing Minister, Mark Butler, says it is just not possible to fund to that level.
“There is currently not that money available, particularly for dementia research,” he said.
“It becomes a question of comparing the scale of the challenge in dementia to the scale of the challenge in cancer or multiple sclerosis or any other areas of research and as well that argue that they are underfunded proportionately.”
He was speaking to Diane Martin for ABC Radio’s Background Briefing that reported on the rise in concern about dementia and its most common form Alzheimer’s disease. They are predicted to overwhelm Australia’s health and aged care sectors without significant intervention.
Mark Butler acknowledges the cost of dementia could be double the current estimates. Many clinicians and advocates say dementia could be costing Australia about $5 billion a year.
Recently a major report in the United Kingdom (UK) calculated that there were many hidden costs with dementia, such the costs to society now being met by unpaid carers.
If Australia added in those costs, its annual dementia bill would double. Mr Butler does not reject the possibility.
“I suspect we can compare those things with countries like the UK because we do have a similar health system, have fairly similar demographics in terms of the availability of family members to care,” he said.
“What we do know is that it is a very significant cost.”
