[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A REPORT ON THE G8 DEMENTIA SUMMIT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 28, 2014

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on December 11, the G8 convened 
a dementia summit in London to examine and presumably harmonize the 
various national action plans on the growing international crisis of 
Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The outcome appears to 
indicate a coalescing around the U.S. plan to make significant headway 
on addressing dementia by 2025, which would have significant 
implications globally, particularly in low and middle-income countries 
where increasing aging populations and numbers of people with dementia 
strain limited resources.
   On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed into law the National 
Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA), requiring the Secretary of the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the National 
Alzheimer's Project. Among other provisions of that law, the 
administration was mandated to: create and maintain an integrated 
national plan to overcome Alzheimer's disease; coordinate Alzheimer's 
disease research and services across all federal agencies; accelerate 
the development of treatments that would prevent, halt, or reverse the 
course of Alzheimer's disease; improve early diagnosis and coordination 
of care and treatment of Alzheimer's disease; improve outcomes for 
ethnic and racial minority populations that are at higher risk for 
Alzheimer's disease; and coordinate with international bodies to fight 
Alzheimer's globally.
   That congressionally-mandated plan apparently found favor with the 
G8, which endorsed that plan as being comprehensive and forward-
looking. But even before the summit, the U.S. national plan on 
Alzheimer's led nearly a dozen other nations to adopt their own 
national strategies.
   According to the testimony at this subcommittee's November 21, 2013 
pre-summit hearing, this comprehensive approach is vital to meeting 
what is a looming global health crisis.
   The World Health Organization and Alzheimer's Disease International 
2012 Dementia Report estimates that there were 35.6 million people with 
dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, worldwide in 2010. This number 
is projected to nearly double every 20 years, increasing to 65.7 
million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050.
   The global cost of this condition totaled $604 billion in 2010, 
according to the Alzheimer's Disease International. To put this figure 
in context, Alzheimer's cost would equal the Gross Domestic Product of 
the 18th-place country in the world ranked by GDP.
   While the other G8 countries may pledge funding to address 
Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in the developing world, we are 
facing an impending global health crisis over Alzheimer's and other 
forms of dementia. The FY2014 federal budget request for U.S.-funded 
global health programs was $8.3 billion. The focus is on achieving an 
AIDS-free generation and ending preventable child and maternal deaths 
through the Administration's Global Health Initiative. Under this 
budget, maternal and child health would receive $680 million, malaria 
program would receive $670 million, tuberculosis programs would receive 
$191 million, neglected tropical disease programs would receive $85 
million and pandemic influenza and other emerging threats programs 
would receive $47 million.
   WHO estimates that more than half of global dementia cases are in 
low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where cases are projected to 
grow. Across Asia, Latin America and Africa, these developing countries 
are expected to see the most rapid growth in dementia cases over the 
next several decades. In 2010, roughly 53% of dementia cases were in 
low- and middle-income countries. By 2050, WHO expects 70% of all cases 
to be found in such countries. So how will this impact our foreign aid 
portfolio, especially as regards global health?
   We need to better understand the level of international cooperation 
our government can expect in the search for early detection techniques, 
prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. 
There has been collaboration among scientists across borders on HIV/
AIDS, but how much can we expect on the various forms of dementia? Many 
countries in the developing world don't even have surveillance adequate 
to provide reliable statistics on the incidence of Alzheimer's and 
other forms of dementia. Given the negative impact of the brain drain, 
they may not be able to be the active, effective partners we need them 
to be in this area. However, without their help, it will be difficult 
to even formulate programs to help such nations cope with this growing 
health threat.
   These are questions we addressed at a recent hearing. The 
administration was unable to participate in my subcommittee's November 
21, 2013 hearing on the subject, but we recently had the head of the 
National Institute on Aging to provide the administration's view on 
what the summit produced. We were also joined by two representatives 
from the NGO community who participated in the London summit to give us 
a private sector view of those proceedings.
   We will need more than rhetoric to deal with this crisis. As more of 
us live longer worldwide, the threat of developing Alzheimer's or some 
other form of dementia grows exponentially. We cannot afford to have a 
robust domestic program to fight this condition and find that our 
international efforts are undermined by the failure of other donors to 
play their proper role in this effort.

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