DESK REVIEWS | 04.01.04. Is there a dementia-specific representative within the national government?

DESK REVIEW | 04.01.04. Is there a dementia-specific representative within the national government?

No. Although dementia is a topic discussed by the Division for Older People Healthcare (in the Ministry of Health) there is no dementia-specific representative in the government.

Currently, there is no dementia-specific government unit or representative that is responsible for the formulation of policies on the awareness, treatment, and care of dementia. As mentioned above, the government sectors provide a variety of services to older people including those with dementia.

There is no dementia specific representative within the national government.

No information available. [To be followed-up during stakeholder interviews.]

Following the agreement of Jamaica to provide information to the Global Dementia Observatory (GDO), the Director, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and the Ministry of Health, Jamaica was nominated as the national representative for collation of data to the GDO e-tool, and acts as the dementia-specific representative within the national government. Dr Goulbourne is being supported by the STRiDE Jamaica team in collecting this information from stakeholders via design of Google Forms targeting healthcare and social workers.

The director of Mental Health is frequently approached to give views on dementia in the context of Kenya, but there is no one specifically assigned to focus on issues around dementia at the national government level.