Prime minister pledges to double dementia funding

Prime minister David Cameron has announced that he will be doubling funding for dementia research to £132 million by 2025.

The government has a current target of increasing funding to £66 million a year by 2015, but ahead of this week's G8 summit on the condition in London, Mr Cameron acknowledged that much greater financial support is needed.

According to a report published by the Alzheimer's Disease International earlier this month, the number of people living with dementia worldwide will treble to 135 million by 2050.

And there is concern that some nations will simply not be able to deal with the growing demand the condition places on their health services.

On top of the decision to boost funding from the government, Mr Cameron urged businesses and charities to commit to raising more finances.

"If we are to beat dementia, we must also work globally, with nations, business and scientists from all over the world working together as we did with cancer, and with HIV and Aids," he said.

"Today, we will get some of the most powerful nations around the table in London to agree how we must go forward together, working towards that next big breakthrough."

One famous supporter of greater dementia funding is the world renowned author Sir Terry Pratchett. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008 and feels the condition that the only way to fight it is by committing "a lot more money" to research and care facilities.

"Every time I read a newspaper or look at a screen, some bad care has been found somewhere in Britain," he told BBC's Newsnight.

He added that if care provisions were improved, it would help to alleviate the fear people have of dementia because they would know that they'd be "well looked after".

Currently, there are around 820,000 people living with dementia in the UK and that number is likely to rise above one million by 2021.

Read more about Barchester's dementia care homes.