Globalising strategies to meet global challenges: the case of ageing and dementia

Dementia has been declared a Global Challenge [1]. However, strategies to tackle it are far from global. Epidemiological forecasts are more alarming for low and middle-income countries (LMIC) than for high-income countries (HIC), and yet provisions to support the former are scarce and, in some cases, as we discuss below, impractical. New initiatives are emerging to close these gaps. The Latin America and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD) [2] and the Global Dementia Prevention Program (GloDePP Consortium; Wang, H. from Peking University and Chan, K.Y. from University of Edinburgh. Preventing dementia and improving dementia care: setting and addressing research priorities in China. Supported by Global Challenges Research Fund Networking Grants). They are seeking strategies to meet and map local and global challenges. Both consortia agree that actions to improve diagnosis and post-diagnostic support are of utmost priority. Here we discuss theory-driven, culturally valid, and interdisciplinary approaches that can yield affordable, reliable, and practical solutions to meet these outstanding needs.