Importance of national plans for Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Policy makers have a growing interest in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, which is seen as the main health and social care challenge of the 21st century. The best way to manage dementia at a country level is by developing national plans, comparable to nationwide management of HIV/AIDS or diabetes. This has been done in a limited number of countries, like Australia, South Korea, France, UK and USA. There are some commonalities in the current plans and we have put those together as a learning experience. The value of these plans can increase when they are monitored and evaluated.