Seychelles’ Ministry of Health and the Swedish city of Umeå have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen elderly care services with a focus on dementia — a condition increasingly affecting the island nation’s ageing population.
The agreement, signed at the Ministry’s headquarters by Health Minister and Carin Nilsson, Chairperson of Umeå City Elderly Care, aims to develop a comprehensive geriatric care plan and provide specialised training for caregivers and health professionals in Seychelles.
Minister explained that while Seychelles has improved in diagnosing dementia thanks to the recruitment of neurologists, there is still a critical gap in specialised care. “Care is generalised and caregivers do not know how to care for patients with dementia,” he said, emphasising the need for structured training.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, around 7.6% of the population is aged 65 or older, with between 500 and 1,000 people estimated to suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Under the MoU, Swedish experts will visit Seychelles later this year to train healthcare assistants, while Seychellois nurses will have opportunities to pursue specialist geriatric training at Umeå University Hospital. The collaboration also opens doors for joint research on dementia, Alzheimer’s, and elderly care.
Carin Nilsson noted that caregivers in Seychelles are dedicated but lack the specialised knowledge required for dementia care. “We will invite them to Sweden to see how we work and to help develop an education plan for caregivers,” she said.
The initiative follows a Seychelles health delegation’s study visit to Sweden last September to learn from the country’s advanced elderly care system. The Swedish delegation’s visit to Seychelles, organised by the Ministry of Health, the Health Care Agency, and the Seychelles Alzheimer’s Foundation, included tours of the North East Point Hospital and lectures for local professionals.
The agreement is open-ended, with new programmes and activities to be reviewed and approved annually.