11.02. Policy gaps | India

11.02. Policy gaps | India

08 Jul 2022

There is no national level policy/programme specific to dementia in India. Although, there are several national level government programmes and policies that are relevant to persons with dementia (National Programme for Prevention and Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), National Programme for Palliative Care (NPPC), National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), National Programme for Healthcare of the Elderly (NPHCE), and Ayushman Bharat (AB-PMJAY and AB-HWCs) etc.). Enhancing the integration of the multi-disciplinary needs of persons with dementia across these existing programmes is crucial. In addition, few state-level programmes such as the Kerala State Initiative on Dementia (KSID) in Kerala and the Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (KBHI) in Karnataka are specifically targeting improvements in areas such as awareness and service delivery for persons with dementia (Alladi, 2022; Karnataka Brain Health Initiative [KBHI], 2022; Social Justice Department, 2014).

References:

Alladi. S (2022). Primary Health Care doctors training by neurologists. Twitter. Available from: https://twitter.com/alladi_suvarna/status/1502244487191416833?cxt=HHwWgsCqjdzZhdkpAAAA

Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (2022). Forum for Karnataka Brain Health Initiative. National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. Available from: https://brainhealthnimhans.in/#

Social Justice Department and ARDSI (2014). Kerala State Initiative on Dementia. Alzheimer’s Disease International.