The Executive Director of the NEEGLAR Foundation, Mrs. Chinenye Azu Udu, has called for a coordinated national response to dementia as Nigeria’s ageing population continues to grow, warning that the condition remains largely under-recognised and misunderstood across many communities.

Speaking in Abakaliki at a capacity-building workshop themed “Dementia in an Ageing World: Early Recognition and Community Support,” Mrs. Azu Udu urged Nigeria to strengthen community-level health systems to improve early detection, reduce stigma, and support families caring for people living with dementia.
The workshop, organised by the foundation in collaboration with stakeholders including the Ebonyi State Ministry of Information and State Orientation, brought together Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), development partners, and health stakeholders to enhance grassroots understanding and response to dementia across Ebonyi State.
According to Mrs. Azu Udu, many dementia symptoms are often wrongly attributed to normal ageing or cultural myths, leading to delayed diagnosis and inadequate care for older persons.

“Across Nigeria, dementia remains under-recognised, under-documented, and frequently misunderstood. In many communities, symptoms are attributed to ageing myths rather than clinical conditions,” she explained.
“This gap contributes to delayed diagnosis, increased caregiver burden, and social exclusion of older persons who require support and dignity in their later years.”
The capacity-building programme was designed to strengthen the ability of frontline health workers to recognise early symptoms of dementia and guide affected families toward appropriate medical support. Mrs. Azu Udu stressed that primary healthcare workers, as the first point of contact for many families, play a critical role in improving early detection and response.

“At NEEGLAR Foundation, we believe sustainable change begins at the primary healthcare level. By strengthening the capacity of frontline health workers, we strengthen the entire health response chain,” she said.
The workshop focused on improving early recognition of dementia symptoms, establishing clearer referral pathways, strengthening caregiver education, and reducing stigma through community awareness. Participants were also trained on documentation and data collection to support evidence-based planning and policy development.
Mrs. Azu Udu emphasised that the initiative goes beyond training, describing it as part of a broader strategy to build sustainable community health systems capable of addressing the growing challenges of an ageing population.

“We are not merely delivering training; we are building systems,” she said.
The programme also incorporates a research component to generate reliable data on dementia awareness, diagnosis patterns, and referral trends within communities. Pre- and post-training assessments, field documentation, and follow-up monitoring will evaluate programme effectiveness and guide future scale-up across additional local government areas.
The research framework is being coordinated by Kelechi Eluigwe, who serves as the project’s research lead in Ebonyi State.