In response to the World Health Organization’s calls for action on dementia, many countries around the world are implementing dementia action plans. In light of this urgent need, the dementia sector has worked collaboratively to prepare a Dementia Action Plan for New Zealand. 

We have sent the Dementia Action Plan to Ministers Clark and Salesa. This Plan is the culmination of effort from right across the sector. Our three organisations (the New Zealand Dementia Cooperative, Alzheimers New Zealand, and Dementia New Zealand), along with our wider Working Group, spent many months undertaking the formation, analysis, and consultation of this important document. 

However, we could not have done it without the support of the dementia sector. Thanks are due to everyone who took the time to provide feedback on the draft Plan. The draft Plan was circulated widely and consulted on from November 2019 to January 2020. We had a combination of written correspondence, survey feedback, phone conversations, and face-to-face meetings, and we received information from over 300 individuals and groups.

The response was invaluable – and affirming. There was overwhelming support for having a Plan and for the vision, mission and action areas. We took the feedback on board, and the Plan improved as a result. A summary of the consultation response is provided HERE

We expect Ministers will take some time to consider this, but we are confident that it will achieve our goal – to put a stake in the ground and a call to action from the sector for Government to follow-through on a commitment to dementia.