Awareness and prevention make a world of difference
152M cases expected by 2050 Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are a global health crisis. According to the World Health Organization, by 2050 the number of people with dementia will more than triple—reaching 152 million.
By raising awareness and destigmatizing these devastating conditions, we can help promote more equitable societies in the region and improve the quality of life for all.
Hany, Elaine and Stelios came up with the idea at an event hosted by the Atlantic Institute in Oxford in February 2018. Together, they co-founded the East Mediterranean Brain Health Initiative (EMBHI) and built networks across the three countries to support individuals and families dealing with dementia.
"We simply recognized that harnessing the expertise and skill of one country to work collaboratively with another country could provide real solutions cost effectively and rapidly."
Hany Ibrahim, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health
The East Mediterranean Brain Health Initiative (EMBHI) promotes equitable access to essential resources, including education, early detection, preventative healthcare, and long-term care services.
"We want to support collaboration among the expertise and the networks that exist in the Mediterranean region so that one country can work with another and share their expertise and resources."
Elaine Howard, Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health
The Fellows collaborate across borders and disciplines, leveraging existing networks and expertise in the East Mediterranean region to promote fairer, more equitable societies for people living with dementia. These interdisciplinary initiatives include:
The Fellows collaborate across borders and disciplines, leveraging existing networks and expertise in the East Mediterranean region to promote fairer, more equitable societies for people living with dementia. These interdisciplinary initiatives include:
As the need for equitable health and social care services grows and persists, EMBHI continues to respond and rise to meet the challenge. With time, the Fellows hope to forge links with medical teams in Armenia, Jordan, Turkey, and Pakistan.
The Initiative will continue to work collaboratively to implement better brain health services to underserved populations by promoting information and expertise-sharing within and between participating countries. This will be enhanced by harnessing expertise and learning within and outside of the East Mediterranean region. By inviting all relevant experts, EMBHI seeks to be inclusive of physical, clinical and psychosocial interventions. More steps will be taken in the short to medium term to continue the creation of a vibrant community of brain health expertise for the East Mediterranean region.
Health Equity in Southeast Asia
Health Equity US + Global
Racial Equity
Social Equity
Health Equity in South Africa
Equity in Brain Health
Social and Economic Equity
130 Fellows, 7 global Atlantic programs. Together, these leaders catalyze meaningful change around the world. Over four days in July 2019, 130 Atlantic Fellows from all seven global Atlantic programs participated in the inaugural annual Convening of Atlantic Fellows in Oxford. The event focused on catalytic conversations in leadership and equity with the overarching goal of Fellows making meaningful connections across their diverse cultures, languages and disciplines.
Health Equity in Southeast Asia
Health Equity US + Global
Racial Equity
Social Equity
Health Equity in South Africa
Equity in Brain Health
Social and Economic Equity
Leadership development is a $366 billion industry — an amount that could solve global poverty many times over — yet its ethnocentric and academic approach is largely ineffective. The paradox of spending billions on leadership development, instead of investing those funds directly to resolve the problems such programs endeavor to resolve, inspired us to begin the significant and complex journey of changing the narrative.
Equity in Brain Health
Eastern Mediterranean societies are adversely impacted by the global brain health crisis. The East Mediterranean Brain Health Initiative promotes equitable access to essential resources, including education, early detection, preventative healthcare, and long-term care services. Atlantic Fellows collaborated across borders and disciplines, leveraging existing networks and expertise in the East Mediterranean region to promote fairer, more equitable societies for people living with dementia.
Equity in Brain Health
Social and Economic Equity
Loneliness is a silent killer. Even deadlier in a post-pandemic world of increased isolation. 90% of caregivers of persons with dementia suffer from the burden, including higher levels of loneliness and social isolation. A group of Atlantic Fellows took initiative to investigate care burdens, loneliness and social isolation in care partners/families of people with neurodegenerative disorders, informing COVID-19 responses internationally.
Social Equity
Health Equity US + Global
Healthcare workers on the frontlines must be able to speak up for their patients’ needs—as well as their own. However, many lack the storytelling abilities they need to demand equitable treatment and change policies in their disenfranchised communities. Three Atlantic Fellows formed the empowering disenfranchised communities with storytelling group to develop a toolkit for health workers at the front line of COVID-19.
Health Equity in Southeast Asia
Health Equity US + Global
Social Equity
Health Equity in South Africa
Equity in Brain Health
Social and Economic Equity
The global movement of displaced people is a defining feature of our times. Yet most of the narratives surrounding it are trapped in the language of vilification and crisis, limiting our capacity to engage with the issue humanely. In 2019, a group of Atlantic Fellows came together to create a space to understand and engage with the common humanity inherent in the stories of the displaced.
Health Equity in Southeast Asia
Health Equity US + Global
Equity in Brain Health
Rights awareness and legal resources are critical to supporting communities that are disproportionately impacted by societal inequities, especially in the criminal justice system. A cohort of four Atlantic Fellows collaborated on how to promote access to this vital information. As leaders in their communities, Fellows can promote awareness and access to legal resources to those who need it most.
Health Equity in Southeast Asia
Health Equity US + Global
Lack of access to mental health care for young Filipinos, particularly in remote areas, is deadly. Attempted youth suicides and deaths have risen sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical to combat social stigma around seeking mental health support and to provide that support, such as suicide prevention programs.Atlantic Fellows in the Philippines collaborated to advance policy reform to improve access to essential life-saving resources.
Candidate, MMSc Global Health Delivery, Harvard Medical School
Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Independent consultant, Dementia Focus
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