Ageing African population faces looming dementia crisis
With the African population ageing, the continent is beginning to face an increasing risk of dementia, a condition previously less prevalent in the region.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa’s rapidly growing elderly population is now more vulnerable to age-related diseases like dementia, as life expectancy continues to rise across the continent.
Although Africa is often characterised by its young demographic, with a median age of 19, the United Nations reports that it also has the fastest-growing elderly population in the world. Between 2000 and 2019, the healthy life expectancy in Africa increased by 10 years per person, the largest rise of any region during this period. However, this longevity brings new challenges.
In a 2024 update by the Lancet Commission on Dementia, led by 27 global dementia experts, the report highlights the increasing global prevalence of dementia, while also noting that risk factors for the disease can be mitigated through prevention efforts.
"The number of people with dementia continues to rise...emphasising the need to identify and implement prevention approaches," said Gill Livingston of University College London in the report.
The biggest challenge in Africa, according to Dr. Zul Merali, director of the Brain and Mind Institute at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, is the outdated technology and insufficient data available for dementia diagnosis. “We have not been measuring dementia properly,” Merali is quoted by Semafor Africa, adding that many patients are diagnosed only after symptoms have severely progressed.
Dementia is used to describe a decline in cognitive abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. It affects memory, thinking, reasoning, language, and the ability to perform everyday tasks.
