Geneva, Switzerland – Following is a statement by George Vradenburg, convener of the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) on Alzheimer’s Disease, on today’s announcement by UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt that more than $100 million has been raised to support the Dementia Discovery Fund. The fund, which was created by the British government, is unique because it is bringing together government and industry to on a single disease – dementia.
“Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most critical public health problems, and it will only be solved by working collectively across borders and sectors,” said George Vradenburg. “The U.K. government, led by Prime Minister Cameron, is spearheading the global fight against dementia and fully recognizes that no one company or one government can do this alone.”
“This type of innovative financing mechanism is critical if we are going to improve drug development and move forward on patient-centric care. It’s how we tackled polio and HIV/AIDS and malaria, and it’s how we must address Alzheimer’s. I firmly believe that we can find a cure for Alzheimer’s by 2025, but new collaborations, commitments and innovations beyond ‘business-as-usual’ are necessary to change the trajectory of the disease and its impact on business and fiscal budgets around the world.”
The announcement was made this morning at the World Health Organization’s First Ministerial Conference on Global Action Against Dementia. Vradenburg, who is also the founder of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, is attending the meeting in his capacity as a member of the World Dementia Council.
Since the Group of Eight (G8) Dementia Summit was held in London in December 2013, the global effort against Alzheimer’s and dementia has grown tremendously. This work includes the formation of the World Dementia Council; the convening of G8/G7 legacy meetings by Prime Minister Cameron of the United Kingdom, Health Minister Ambrose of Canada, and Prime Minister Abe of Japan and the recognition by an increasing number of international organizations (United Nations, WHO, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) of the commitments needed to address the global challenge of Alzheimer’s
Prime Minister Cameron has continued to make fighting dementia a personal priority, launching a national challenge to fight dementia in 2012 and forming the World Dementia Council to support implementation of the G8 goal to stop Alzheimer’s by 2025, and launching The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 just last month. Today’s announcement is another step in the U.K.’s follow through on the G8 commitments.
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The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease (CEOi) is a patient-powered industry coalition of private-sector leaders who have joined together to provide business leadership in the fight against Alzheimer’s. The CEO Initiative seeks to partner with public leaders to transform the disease from a social, health, and economic crisis into an opportunity for healthy aging and innovation in research and care. In this era of aging populations, The CEO Initiative believes that it will take visionary, action-oriented leadership of public and private leaders working together to solve our greatest challenges. Learn more at: www.ceoalzheimersinitiative.org.