In 2009, when DY Suharya was working on her master’s in public health, her mother was diagnosed with what was already mid- to late-stage Alzheimer's. DY Suharya’s subsequent experiences of providing care and support opened her eyes to the extreme challenges faced by those living with dementia and those who support them, particularly in settings where health and care systems responsive to dementia are virtually non-existent.
From that moment, DY Suharya brought her full heart and strength into seeing change in dementia in Indonesia and now regionally in the Asia Pacific. She is a movement builder who is passionate for building grassroots networks to provide support to carers and those living with dementia. In 2013, she founded Alzheimer’s Disease Indonesia (ALZI) to accelerate work on transforming the lives of people living with dementia which has grown from being a one-woman operation at launch to a comprehensive movement in just under a decade.
Through her work with ALZI and beyond, DY Suharya has played a key role in, for example:
- Advocating for the development of a National Dementia Plan by the Ministry of Health in Indonesia, launched in March 2016;
- Influencing the Indonesian government to establish a dementia-friendly and age-friendly city in Jakarta and Bandung;
- Reaching over 150 million people with messages that reduce stigma against people living with dementia, while clarifying that dementia is not an inevitable part of the ageing process; and
- Running online and offline support programmes for peer support of caregivers of people living with dementia.
Mental health is a key component of fostering healthy ageing – and DY Suharya has shown world leading commitment to people living with dementia as well as those who provide care and support to them.