The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is increasing worldwide – according to international statistics, the number people affected by the disease are predicted to increase from 44 million in 2013 to 135 million by 2050. In Africa specifically, Alzheimer’s is set to increase by a considerable 325% by 2050. This huge increase will require much more attention when it comes to facilities, care homes and community education about the disease. The experience of Alzheimer’s in Egypt is surrounded by misconceptions – it is usually seen simply as the memory loss experienced when people get old. However, this is not a correct or specific description of the Alzheimer experience. Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t only affect the memory of the patient but it also affects all cognitive abilities, planning, decision making and abstract thinking. I decided to make Alzheimer awareness the focus of my doctorate, and as part of this I started to spend many hours with patients at care homes in Cairo and Edinburgh. Visiting care homes around Cairo enabled me to recognize the suffering that Alzheimer patients go through in Egypt because neither their carers nor their families fully understand the Alzheimer…
