Marching to a $500m tune
Dementia activists from Victoria joined people from across the country as they marched on Parliament House yesterday (Wednesday, 12 October 2011), to demand $500 million in funding over five years to address the dementia epidemic.
Dementia activists from Victoria joined people from across the country as they marched on Parliament House yesterday (Wednesday, 12 October 2011), to demand $500 million in funding over five years to address the dementia epidemic.
Leading the march was Alzheimer’s Australia president, Ita Buttrose, who claimed the march was in response to the government’s recent decision to “discontinue” the Dementia Initiative.
A new report, prepared for Alzheimer’s Australia by Deloitte Access Economics, revealed the number of Australians affected by dementia was expected to increase to a staggering 385,000 people – up by almost 50% – in just a decade.
People from the Federal Electorates of Flinders, Corangamite and Lalor in Victoria are expected to be the hardest hit with dementia; with these electorates reportedly ranked in the top 10 areas for dementia prevalence.
“These new figures demonstrate the urgency with which Australia must respond. Dementia must be part of aged care reform,” Ms Buttrose claimed.
However, Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria chief executive officer, Maree McCabe, said every area would ultimately be affected, and there were “no winners” as Australia must “fight dementia the way it has fought cancer or heart disease”.
“Every electorate across Victoria will experience an increase in the number of people with dementia, which is why I [was] marching on Parliament House in Canberra,” Ms McCabe said.
The $500 million funding over five years, allegedly required to put an end to the dementia epidemic, would reportedly assist in: promoting dementia awareness, achieve timely diagnosis, providing quality dementia care; making Australians aware they may be able to reduce their risk and to invest in dementia research.
There will reportedly be 75,000 baby boomers with dementia by 2020 and it will be the third largest source of health and residential care spending by 2030.
