Dementia conference in Altena

The GGD and the 16 municipalities of West Brabant are strengthening their cooperation in tackling dementia, it was revealed at a conference. On Thursday, March 28, officials, policy makers and experts came together in Altena to share knowledge about the approach to dementia. The conference was also attended by the North Brabant Health Commissioner, Saskia Polema, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors. GGD West BrabantMarian Witt, present.

One in five people develops dementia

Dementia is currently developing into the leading cause of death in the Netherlands. A disease that has a huge impact. There is a very urgent need to do something about this together. The GGD and the 16 participating municipalities will therefore work more together to combat and prevent dementia. And to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their loved ones.

Congress

The conference had a broad program to highlight the many aspects of dementia in practice
Mayor Egbert Lichtenberg opened the conference as host of the municipality of Altena. Journalist Gijs Wanders then spoke about his book “Faces of Dementia,” which contains photographs of people with dementia and their loved ones. Furthermore, there were activities aimed at “experiencing and living dementia” and creating new forms of collaboration. The conference concluded with concrete agreements to work together now and in the future.

Saskia Polema – Deputy Health, North Brabant: “It is very useful to be here today. A moving story by Gijs Wanders, followed by activities and good conversations on the topic of dementia. We did things with head and heart and that is very important – especially on this topic. We are proud that the region works together in the field of health to this day. This fits perfectly with our ambition of “three healthy years of life for every Brabander by 2030”. Promoting a healthy living environment is extremely important.”

Marianne Witt – President of the GGD: “Prevent if possible, protect if necessary. Through stronger cooperation between municipalities and GGD, we can disseminate, share and scale up targeted programmes. In this way we improve care and support for our residents. We have a regional dementia picture consisting of four components: “People with dementia, use of care/day care services by people with dementia, risk factors for developing dementia, informal carers of people with dementia. Together we are fully committed to this.”

Shah Shekharim – Health Advisor, Altena Municipality: “We have the ambition in Altena to create a ‘Blue Zone’ of happy, healthy and vibrant residents. This ambition is detailed in our management priority ‘Vital Life’. We use this extensively from a health perspective. To prevent Dementia, we focus on healthy nutrition, exercise and combating loneliness. We ensure that the municipality of Altena is dementia-friendly through daytime activities and housing options. We can only achieve this together, with the community. With this conference, we have once again taken important steps to address dementia firmly together.