Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) urged the World Health Organization to extend the Global Action Plan on dementia to 2031.

‘Dementia is more of a global health crisis today than it was in 2017 when the global action plan was adopted,' said Paola Barbarino, ADI chief executive.

‘Not extending this vitally important Global Action Plan would undermine the progress we have made in the past eight years and limit the potential for governments to stem the tide that is coming.'

ADI said that while the Global Action Plan on dementia had not galvanised member states enough to reach targets, it had been a valuable compass since 2017. While the expiration of the Global Action Plan sets a hard deadline, the extension would give governments globally six extra years to make real progress, rebuild momentum and renew commitment, it said.

The international body said just 45 (23%) of the World Health Organization's 194 member states had a national dementia plan in place despite unanimously pledging to do so by 2025.

The UK announced a 10-year dementia plan in May 2022  but it was never published.

‘Countries with national dementia plans are more likely to meet other key dementia targets, highlighting the importance of formulating robust national responses to dementia,' said Barbarino.

Dementia is the seventh leading cause of death globally and forecasts suggest this will rise to the third leading cause of death by 2030. By this time, 78m people will be living with dementia at an annual cost US$2.8trn (£2.1trn) globally.