Dementia epidemic grips Zimbabwe

A Zimbabwean legislator has called on the government to develop a national dementia strategy, warning that thousands of older people are living with a largely misunderstood condition that leaves them vulnerable to stigma, abuse and neglect.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Lynette Karenyi, a member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care, described dementia as a growing public health challenge that has received little policy attention.

She said the condition had become a "silent epidemic", with many cases going undiagnosed because symptoms are often mistaken for normal ageing or attributed to witchcraft.

"Our point of national interest is on the growing burden of dementia in Zimbabwe. I also draw the attention of this House to a silent epidemic that is steadily unfolding across our communities but it is continuing to receive very little policy attention, which is called dementia," Karenyi said.

Karenyi said the increasing number of elderly people reported missing on social media, in newspapers and community WhatsApp groups could be linked to dementia, a progressive neurological condition that affects memory, judgement and orientation.

"Almost every week, we read notices on social media, in newspapers and also in community WhatsApp groups, of elderly persons who have gone missing. Families desperately circulate photographs and plead with the public to help locate a mother, father or grandparent who simply walked away from home and never found their way back," she said.

She added that many families failed to recognise dementia as a possible cause when elderly relatives wandered from home.

"We sympathise with those families, yet very few of us pause to ask an important question; why are so many of our elderly people going missing? For many of them, the answer may not be negligence; it may not even be old age; it may be dementia, a progressive neurological condition that robs people of their memory, judgment and sense of direction."

Karenyi told Parliament that an estimated 18,000 Zimbabweans are living with dementia, although she believes the actual number is likely to be much higher because many cases remain undiagnosed.

"It is estimated that about 18,000 Zimbabweans are living with dementia, yet this statistic should not comfort us. It is not a measure of the true burden of the disease; it is a measure of the cases we have managed to recognise," she said.

She warned that misconceptions surrounding dementia continue to expose older people to discrimination and violence.

Karenyi cited a recent case in Budiriro North in which an elderly woman who had gone missing was allegedly assaulted after she was found wandering while partially clothed.

"Instead of recognising that she may have been suffering from a recognised disorder, she was brutally assaulted after being accused of witchcraft," she said.

She argued that such incidents reflect a broader failure to recognise dementia as a medical condition requiring diagnosis, treatment and care.

"When memory fails, we say someone has been bewitched; when confusion sets in, we call them a witch; when an elderly person wanders from home, we rebuke them instead of asking whether they require urgent medical attention. The greatest tragedy is that we are criminalising the symptoms of this illness."

Karenyi said Zimbabwe currently lacks a comprehensive national framework to guide dementia awareness, prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and caregiver support.

"This is happening because Zimbabwe currently has no national dementia strategy to guide awareness, prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, caregiver support and public education. Consequently, families are left to navigate this devastating condition alone while senior citizens continue to suffer in silence," she said.

She urged the Ministry of Health and Child Care to develop and implement a national dementia strategy and called on the Minister of Health to table a statement in Parliament detailing the number of diagnosed and treated dementia cases in each province.

Karenyi said the information would help lawmakers better understand the scale of the condition and strengthen parliamentary oversight of mental health services.

Concluding her contribution, she appealed for greater compassion and understanding towards people living with dementia.

"Dementia steals memories; it must never steal dignity. Let us not become a nation that mistakes disease for witchcraft or abandons those who once carried us simply because they can no longer remember the road home. Let this House lead the call for a Zimbabwe that protects its elderly with knowledge, compassion and sound public policy," she said.