The government should devise measures to respond to an increased incidence of dementia, the National Audit Office said in its annual report, citing a study by the Taiwan Alzheimer’s Disease Association, which found that the risk of Taiwanese aged 65 and older having the condition is 8 percent.
The report, issued on July 29, offered suggestions on the general budget request for the next fiscal year, which the Executive Yuan unveiled last week.
The Long-term Care Program 2.0 introduced in 2017 concentrates the majority of its funding on nursing people who have dementia, which has marginalized funding for prevention of the disease, the report said.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
Concerned agencies should come up with diversified measures to prevent the onset of dementia or lessen it, to ease the burden on families with members who have the condition, it said.
Although Taiwan became the 13th nation in the world to implement a policy guideline for caring for people with dementia, the nation’s healthcare system does not seem to have effectively diagnosed people with the condition, with just 20 percent of people who sought medical help confirmed to have dementia, compared with 50 percent in the EU.
The government should bolster the nation’s medical capacity targeting dementia by establishing an accessible health system aimed at diagnosing the condition in its early stage, thereby reducing the chance or delaying the time that people become disabled, the report said.
The risk of Taiwanese aged 65 or older having dementia is 8 percent, with the incidence rising as they get older, the association’s report said.
People aged 65 to 74 have a 3.4 percent chance of developing dementia, with the ratio rising to 7.2 percent among people aged 75 to 79; 13 percent for those aged 80 to 84; 22 percent for those aged 85 to 89; and 37 percent for those aged 90 or older, the report said.
A Ministry of the Interior census showed that there were about 290,000 Taiwanese with dementia at the end of last year — a number that it expects to surge to about 550,000 in 2036.
The association’s report states that dementia, a chronic degenerative brain disease, can be alleviated if discovered early, and that people can continue to manage their lives and lead a normal social life if aided by proper rehabilitative resources, which would slow the degenerative process.
Family members of people with dementia can learn the necessary skills for taking care of them, which would reduce healthcare expenditure, it said.
With the number of people with dementia on the rise, more families are struggling to take care of them, the office said.
The government should raise public awareness of the condition, equip people with the necessary skills to take care of people with dementia, prevent them from becoming disabled and help the nation cut healthcare costs, it said.
Alzheimer’s Disease International advised people to seek medical help if they experience symptoms such as memory loss disrupting daily life, having problems with words in speaking or writing, confusion with time or place, decreased or poor judgement, difficulty completing familiar tasks and changes in mood or personality.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
RSS