Assessment and recommendations

The large and growing human and financial cost of dementia provides an imperative for policy action. Dementia is a debilitating condition for which there is currently no cure. It is the second largest cause of disability for the over-70s and the global cost in 2010 was estimated to be USD 604 billion – more than the total economic output of Switzerland. Since dementia is strongly linked to age, its cost and burden will grow as people around the world live longer. By 2030, prevalence within the whole population is set to rise by 50% in high-income countries and 80% in low and middleincome countries. Governments and other organisations around the world need to act now to minimise the human and financial costs of dementia.