Sunday Times 2
‘Memorable Steps”- a virtual walk ends tomorrow marking World Alzheimer’s Day
View(s):September is World Alzheimer’s Month and the Lanka Alzheimer’s Foundation (LAF) is marking World Alzheimer’s Day on September 21 with ‘Memorable Steps” — a Virtual Walk that ends tomorrow at the Sigiriya Rock.
For 17 years, the LAF’s key activities in September had been its Memory Walk, and for five years the Memory Run but this year’s activities were curtailed due to the need for public safety as a result of the pandemic. In a media release, the LAF said that Alzheimer’s Disease International, of which LAF is a member, had highlighted that COVID-19 deaths disproportionately affected people with dementia and that a targeted response was urgently needed.
According to data from the London School of Economics and University College London, older people are the most ‘at risk’ group for COVID-19, with 86 percent of all COVID-19 deaths worldwide being among people aged 65 and over.
Dementia is often the underlying disorder among older people dying of COVID-19 in care homes and residential facilities.
The reality for people with dementia in many countries is that access to health and care professionals has been limited, face to face support has been withdrawn, diagnosis has been interrupted and research disrupted.
“The advocacy for people with dementia, however, goes on and LAF will not stop talking about dementia; as more preparation is needed not only for pandemics, but also for dementia,” the LAF media statement said.