Dementia awareness campaign launches in Netherlands

The Dutch government has released a video for dementia week to raise awareness for the brain disorder. 

An estimated 260 thousand people in the Netherlands currently has dementia. The Ministry of Public Health expects that this number will increase to at least 400 thousand in 2050, due to the aging population and increased life expectancy.

In the video Minister Lodewijk Asscher of Social Affairs, Minister Edith Schippers of Public Health, Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education and State Secretary Martin van Rijn of Health call on the public to be more aware of dementia and have more understanding. "More understanding for people with dementia can lead to better care. As long as it is not possible to cure dementia, we must make the disease as bearable as possible for the patient, family and caregiver", Van Rijn says in the video.

Earlier this year Van Rijn announced a dementia awareness campaign to increase at least one million Dutch people's awareness about dementia during the next five years. The aim is to have the public better able to recognize dementia and can act accordingly. The government also earmarked 32 million euros for research into this fatal brain disorder.