About 1.9 million people are living with dementia in the World Health Organization’s African Region, and the annual economic cost is estimated at $15.6 billion, according to a WHO Regional Office for Africa news release issued in Nairobi on 16 September 2026. The figures refer to the WHO African Region as an administrative area, not automatically to every geographic state on the continent. The organisation warns that the number will rise as populations grow and life expectancy increases.

Dementia is not a single disease but a group of symptoms linked to cognitive decline severe enough to affect daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is the best-known cause, but not the only one. WHO says dementia in the region remains underdiagnosed and receives limited attention in many health systems, while families take on much of the care.

The burden is not only medical. Unpaid caregivers — mainly women and family members — spend an average of 12.9 hours a day providing care, against a cited global average of 7.8 hours. The gap shows the impact on family life, work and household income. The $15.6 billion annual cost also recognises that unpaid labour, not only hospital spending.

As of 2024, none of the 47 countries in the WHO African Region had a national dementia plan, either as a stand-alone strategy or integrated into a broader framework. Only five countries had run public-awareness campaigns, and seven were implementing risk-reduction activities. Only ten reported dementia data to WHO. Those are the release’s findings, not a ranking of care quality in every capital.

From 14 to 16 September 2026, experts from ten countries — Cabo Verde, Comoros, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe — met in Nairobi at the Regional Intercountry Workshop on Dementia. Shared priorities included stigma and discrimination, risk reduction, health-worker capacity for earlier diagnosis, integrating services into primary care, support for carers, data surveillance and locally relevant research.

Dr Benido Impouma, of WHO Africa’s health-promotion cluster, said dementia is a public-health priority for Africa and that countries need guidance, tools and data. Dr Catherine Wanjiku Waweru, of Kenya’s Ministry of Health, called for the workshop to translate into concrete action: earlier recognition, access to care, and families not left to face the condition alone. Participants also set up a regional community of practice to exchange experience.

Earlier diagnosis can help families understand symptoms, plan care and identify other medical problems. This article does not imply that all forms of dementia can be cured. Approaches depend on cause, stage, symptoms and resources; care may be medical, social and supportive. Rising life expectancy is itself a public-health achievement. Preparing systems for conditions associated with ageing, including dementia, is the other side of the same demographic shift.

Photo: Rotsee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi. A medical building, not the confirmed WHO workshop venue and not a portrait of patients. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Strengthening dementia care in the African Region (WHO Africa).