Dementia New Zealand (in association with the Mate Wareware Advisory Rōpū, Alzheimers NZ and the NZ Dementia Foundation) is very pleased to release the updated Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan for Aotearoa New Zealand.  In May 2020 the government was presented with the initial version of this plan and since then it has been revised and updated in partnership with the Rōpū.  The collaborative work of these four lead dementia mate wareware organisations has strengthened the Plan’s Kaupapa Māori, equity provisions and to reflect the reforms of the country’s health and disability system.

The updated Plan was provided to Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verral in a meeting held with the lead organisations on 28^th of September 2021 and came out hot on the heels of the recently released Dementia Economic Impact Report that reinforces the size and scale of the challenge dementia mate wareware presents.  With an estimate of 70,000 people currently living with dementia mate wareware in Aotearoa New Zealand and projected to sharply climb to 170,000 over the next 25 years there is no doubting the need for immediate action required by the government, health agencies, service providers and many others in the sector.

It is time for government to act without further delay to implement the action areas of the Plan. The vision, partnership and resource commitment of the four lead dementia mate wareware organisations has created a Plan for all New Zealanders.  We are all working hard to help those who require support now and we need government and health agency support to ready ourselves for the huge demand curve that’s coming our way.