On 9 February 2026, DY Suharya, ADI Regional Director for the Asia Pacific met with the Indonesian Minister of Health, H.E. Budi Sadikin, and representatives from the Global Policy at the Ministry of Health in Jakarta. Also joining the meeting were Jane Sloane, Nerida Dalton, and Maria Elga Erstentia from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
The purpose of the meeting was to initiate a regional dialogue, by way of high-level forum, regarding critical issues surrounding dementia and the care economy within the Asia Pacific region. The dialogues centred around current dementia programmes being implemented in Indonesia within the context of pharmacology, research and innovation at the National Brain Centre Hospital. The Minister also reiterated his support for dementia and highlighted its position as a health priority for Indonesia.
ADI looks forward to further collaboration with the University of New South Wales and the Indonesian government concerning dementia care not just for Indonesia, but for all of ASEAN countries and the Asia Pacific region.
On 10 February, DY spoke at an Age with Rights Rally event hosted by Age Knowble titled Who Decides? The Human Rights Principles that Matter to Older Persons with Dementia. Within the context of the current development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, this event sought to highlight the importance of platforming the voices of older people whose experience is not only shaped by gender, culture, and the society around them, but also the reality of living with a dementia.
DY gave a keynote address on dementia as an noncommunicable disease from a rights-based public health lens, outlining how it is possible to embed human rights principles within a national dementia plan, and how a rights-based approach is key to ensuring the voices of those living with dementia, their carers, and families are heard and amplified.
DY highlighted that our global older populations will not be left behind, punctuating the need for the UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons to value these individuals living with dementia and ensure they have all the same rights to anti-discrimination, to abuse prevention, to dignity and autonomy, and to a comprehensive framework designed with principles in mind to protect their rights.
ADI is proud to continue to engage in this process, alongside our ageing NGO partners, as the drafting process for the new UN convention continues.