“You start with, as in my case, with the loss of three generations of my family to various forms of Alzheimer’s or dementia.”

Those were the words of George Vradenburg. For him, brain health is not an abstract policy issue. It is a lived reality that mirrors a fast-growing global crisis.

This issue was the focus of a recent episode of the Global Health Matters podcast, hosted by Dr. Garry Aslanyan.

An estimated 57 million people worldwide are living with dementia, Vradenburg said, but that figure captures only those with symptoms. The scale is far larger. Disease processes often begin decades earlier, placing hundreds of millions more at risk.

“The problem is by and large, now two thirds to three quarters of the people with dementia are in the global south, and that number and percentage is going to increase in the next 25 years,” Vradenburg said.

The economic and social toll is enormous, already exceeding trillions of dollars globally. Families shoulder much of the burden, facing years of emotional strain and financial loss.

Read related article: Unlocking ‘Brain Capital’ in the Brain Economy – Davos Initiative Aims to Make Brain Health a Development Indicator 

In India, neurologist Rajinder Dhamija sees brain health as a challenge that spans generations.

“One of three of us will develop a brain disorder at one point of our life,” he said.

Children face neurodevelopmental conditions and infections. Young adults confront rising rates of stroke and mental illness. Older adults are living longer, often with multiple chronic brain-related conditions.

India’s numbers are stark. More than 330 million people are expected to be over the age of 60 within two decades. Dementia alone costs the country billions each year. Yet specialist care remains scarce.

“We have less than one neurologist per million population in India, around 3,000 neurologists at present,” according to Dhamija.

Both experts argued that brain health must be reframed beyond hospitals and clinics. Prevention, education, nutrition, and primary care deliver far greater returns than crisis response.

“Prevention at the primary level yields much more results than the investing in terms of a large infrastructure,” Dhamija said.

India has begun piloting district brain health clinics that combine screening, treatment, rehabilitation, and data collection to inform national policy. Globally, new tools may further expand access. Vaccines for Alzheimer’s are now in clinical trials. Low-cost screening using mobile phones and artificial intelligence could bring early detection to underserved communities.

The stakes are high. As Dhamija put it, “brain health… is very essential, not only for the healthy societies and healthy countries, but also for a smooth economic development and the social development of any nation.”

See more Global Health Matters episodes on Health Policy Watch.

Image Credits: Global Health Matters Podcast.