Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to assist African countries with developing programmes to (1) tackle, and (2) raise awareness of, dementia.

Under the UK's modern development agenda, we work in partnership with African countries to strengthen their national health systems, and advocate for a primary healthcare approach, adequate domestic funding, and access to health services (including health promotion and prevention), all of which helps to support individuals with dementia, and reduce the risk factors.

The UK Government supported last year's UN Political Declaration on Non-communicable diseases, the first UN declaration to formally recognise dementia. And, through Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's bilateral and multilateral investments, including to the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group, we support work such as the implementation of the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan, which recognises dementia as a high burden condition and a priority for prevention strategies. The Government also supports dementia research in Africa through Medical Research Council funding.