According to the WHO worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year.
Symptoms of dementia, which may lead to strange erratic behavior and memory dysfunction can easily be misread and in Sub-Saharan Africa, indigenous people living with dementia and Alzheimers are often “diagnosed” by traditional healers or witch doctors as being 'bewitched'. Because of the fear and stigma around witchcraft, indigenous people living with dementia are often banished, isolated, or chained on the outskirts of their community with very little food and water or live under constant threats of bodily harm and even death.
Alzheimer’s Dementia Namibia (ADN) works amongst the indigenous Himba, Kavango, and Zambezi populations of Northern Namibia, using education to empower communities with knowledge about dementia as well as providing training to families so that people living with dementia can receive skilled care from within their own communities.
