World Alzheimer's Month is a coordinated global movement on dementia ensures that this action is taken to advance awareness, care and science all year round. September 21 is also Alzheimer's Awareness Day, so it is fitting awareness is encouraged all month long.
For those of you who may not know dementia is one of New Zealand’s most significant and growing healthcare challenges. Almost 70,000 Kiwis have dementia & that number is expected to almost triple by 2050[1]. A survey conducted in 2017 concluded that 4 out of every 5 New Zealander’s knows or has known someone with dementia.
Dementia is defined as an umbrella term used to describe a group of symptoms that affect how well our brain works. Dementia can affect anyone, and as people get older the changes of developing dementia increase. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
Over the last 5 years the Neurological Foundation has raised over $1.6 million towards researching and understanding Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Without the generous support from our communities within New Zealand, we would’ve never been able to advance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Thank you!
If you are thinking of raising money to support neurological research you can become become on of our community fundraising star. We have more information on how you can do this here.
Through research we have hope for future generations of New Zealanders impacted by neurological disease.