The Chairman of Alzheimer Disease International (ADI) will be visiting Sint Maarten from August 12-15. Dr. Jacob Roy Kuriakose, founder and past-president of the Alzheimer and Related Disorders Society from India, assumed his new responsibility as elected chairman of ADI, in March of this year. At the same ADI-Congress in March the Sint Maarten Alzheimer Foundation was admitted as the 77th national Alzheimer ‘s organization of ADI, the world federation of 78 national Alzheimer organizations.
The ADI-chairman is on a mission to advocate for Dementia to become a public health priority. In April of this year, together with the World Health Organization (WHO), ADI has launched the WHO-ADI report "Dementia: a public health priority." The Sint Maarten Alzheimer Foundation presented a copy of this report to the honorable Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, dr Cornelius de Weever on the same day of the launch.
MEETINGS SCHEDULED
Considering the inspiring role Sint Maarten government officials have played in the regional HIV-AIDS program in the last decade, Dr Jacob Roy wants to discuss with local government authorities, what role and commitment the Sint Maarten government can make in support of the advocacy for dementia to become a public health priority in all countries of the PAHO-region and in the Caribbean in particular.
To achieve the goal, the improvement of the care for persons with dementia and their family members, ADI wants to develop worldwide strategic alliances with community service organizations of professional and business persons, such as Rotary, Lions, business associations such as the Indian Merchant Association. The ADI-chairman is scheduled to meet during his visit in Sint Maarten with the District Governor from Rotary and the District Governor from the Lions, the highest ranking regional officers from Rotary and Lions. Dr Jacob Roy has noticed the cooperation from the local Rotary and Lions clubs with the Sint Maarten Alzheimer Foundation in the Alzheimer awareness campaign in Sint Maarten. With the district governors of these service organizations the ADI-chairman wants to discuss how these organizations in their district can assist ADI in making Dementia a public health priority in all the countries of the region, and especially in the 15 English speaking Caribbean where there is not yet a national Alzheimer organization.
With the PAHO-Sanitary Conference in Washington in September this year forthcoming and the WHO Assembly in Geneva in May next year the ADI-chairman wants to discuss the support of private sector social alliances of the Sint Maarten Alzheimer organization in the advocacy strategy of ADI to get Dementia recognized as a public health priority, just as he is scheduled to do with government officials from the public sector of Sint Maarten. The partnerships with the regional service organizations will be beneficial also to the ADI-globalization and ADI-regionalization policy for this region.
DEMENTIA CONFERENCE
To give hope to the persons with dementia and their family and professional caregivers the ADI-chairman will be the key-note speaker at a one-day Dementia conference on Monday August 13, 2012 in the Sonesta Great Bay Resort and Casino.
Topics that will be covered during the conference are:
· "WHY" Dementia must be recognized as a public health priority in all countries .
· "HOW" ADI wants to achieve this? What are the ADI policies and strategies?
· "WHAT" was done in Sint Maarten to make Dementia a public health priority?
· "HOW" Dementia can become public health priority in the whole region?
· "WHAT" is being done in Sint Maarten for people with Dementia and their family?
· "WHAT" Sint Maarten can offer ADI and the region to help people with dementia?
Stakeholders of public health, wellness and wellbeing as also community service organizations have been invited to attend the conference with their representatives.
Government and corporate sponsors have given their contribution to help realize this so important conference for the region.
The Dementia conference will take place in the Sonesta Great Bay Resort and Casino on Monday coming August 13 from 8.30 am till 5.30 pm. Organizations interested to attend the conference for more information about the conference can contact the Sint Maarten Alzheimer Foundation by visiting their facebook page Alzheimer Sint Maarten or call their hotline number 9220, or call their cellular 5220925, or by sending an email to: al**********@gm***.com.