499 1
The World Alzheimer Report 2026, released today from Alzheimer's Disease International, says despite years of slow progress, clinical trials are now on the brink of diagnostic and medical breakthroughs.

The number of people living with dementia globally is projected to surpass 139 million by 2050, the report said, becoming one of the leading causes of death throughout the world.

But while a cure is still far away, medical research is radically shifting the understanding of the disease.

"I think for a long time there's been a fairly nihilistic view in the dementia world, that it is something that can just happen as you age for example, and that we can't do anything about," neurologist, neuroscientist and Alzheimers NZ spokesperson Dr Campbell Le Heron said. ]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/499/Screenshot-2026-09-21-150707.png url https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/1483456/alzheimer-s-disease-starting-to-be-considered-a-treatable-condition-study 2026-09-21 03:11:02 498 1
Those are the kupu one Pākehā grandmother hopes will encourage more New Zealanders to take their first step toward te reo Māori and te ao Māori.

Gael Finlayson-Davis, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of two, now in her 70s, became an unexpected symbol of this year's Matariki celebrations after speaking through tears at the national hautapu ceremony at Takaparawhau.

Her emotional kōrero, in which she described learning te reo Māori as part of her hope for "a better future for our country", resonated with thousands.

Although learning te reo is something she wishes she had embraced decades earlier, she hopes her story shows it is never too late.

"If I can do it in my 70s, anyone can," she told RNZ.]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/498/Screenshot-2026-09-15-160426.png url https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-ao-maori/794950/how-learning-te-reo-maori-in-her-70-s-transformed-one-pakeha-grandmother-s-view-of-aotearoa 2026-09-15 04:06:42 497 1 From the Herald: With spring comes new life, fresh blooms and yet another birthday for our oldest Kiwi.

Aileen Emily Kars turns 113 today, and to mark the occasion, a newly refurbished garden at her Palmerston North retirement village will be named in her honour.

Born on September 12, 1913, in nearby Tokomaru, Kars is New Zealand’s oldest living person and the 25th oldest in the world, according to the US Gerontology Research Group.

She is also New Zealand’s only validated living supercentenarian, someone aged 110 or older.

While Kars wasn’t up to giving an interview, her long-time friend Jan Cook said a garden was a fitting tribute to a lifelong nature lover. ]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/497/Screenshot-2026-09-14-104435.png url https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-zealands-oldest-person-aileen-kars-turns-113-garden-named-in-her-honour/MQBHONO7VJFWDF2EZBRIBS5PZA/ 2026-09-13 22:49:32 496 1 From Te Ao Maori News: Māori elders are experiencing high levels of financial hardship, housing insecurity and cost-related barriers to healthcare, according to the Older Persons Poverty Monitor. Māori social service providers say many kaumātua are struggling in silence as living costs continue to rise.
Māori elders are experiencing disproportionately high levels of financial hardship, housing insecurity and barriers to health care, according to the latest Older Persons Poverty Monitor.

The report found that older Māori were among those most affected across measures of income, housing and health.

It found that 38.6% of older Māori lived in accommodation they did not own, while 38% had delayed visiting a doctor or dentist because of cost. Nine per cent were experiencing material hardship.

Māori social service providers say the findings reflect what they are seeing in communities, with many kaumātua struggling to meet basic living costs and access essential support.
]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/496/Screenshot-2026-09-11-124613.png url https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2026/09/11/many-kaumatua-are-suffering-in-silence-as-financial-hardship-grows/?fbclid=IwZnRzaAUQLGBwZG9mBWZkaWQWUOOrrCIOffWS3BweZXEUuDxk-ADmpWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4907xrVC4ryfgdCV8H0JjGf4O73xHyfWMtTHa8 2026-09-11 00:49:06 495 1 1News reported last night. Documents obtained through the Official Information Act show MSD has routinely used that reasoning to decline Special Needs Grant applications for help with food over the last six years.

In total, more than 8,000 applications were declined on that basis. The ministry said that represented just 0.094% of the more than 8.5m applications processed over that period, and blamed the error on staff selecting the wrong category when processing applications. “Where the code was entered, it does not mean the underlying decision was incorrect, but selecting this category was an administrative error,” MSD group general manager of client service delivery Graham Allpress told 1News.]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/495/Screenshot-2026-09-10-181745.png url https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin/08-09-2026/msd-told-thousands-food-was-not-an-essential-need 2026-09-10 06:22:31 494 1 From the Herald: On Saturday I caught up with a friend I’ve known for years. She’s in her early 50s, whip-smart, funny and at the absolute top of her game professionally.

But she isn’t happy in her job. She wants to leave and find something else.

The problem is, she’s scared to.

“I don’t think I’d be hireable,” she told me. “I’m almost in my mid-fifties, after all.”

I raised an eyebrow.]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/494/Screenshot-2026-09-10-180038.png url https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/hannah-mcqueen-ageism-means-older-workers-risk-being-overlooked-despite-experience/premium/TYMYHSIBDVENNDBN6R2LBFJZPE/ 2026-09-10 06:01:56 493 1 From one news: Going for much of the day without eating is often promoted as a way to improve health or lose weight. But a new study suggests that long gaps between meals may have different effects on older adults – especially those in the oldest age groups.

By Adrián Carballo Casla for The Conversation

For the study, my colleagues and I followed nearly 3000 people aged 60 and over in Sweden and found that those who usually went longest without eating developed chronic diseases faster than those who had shorter gaps between meals. The difference was clearest among people aged 78 and over.

This does not mean that fasting causes disease in old age, nor that every older person should avoid long intervals without food. But it does raise questions about whether advice based on stu ]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/493/Screenshot-2026-09-07-102414.png url https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/06/long-gaps-between-meals-may-not-be-healthy-for-older-people-study/ 2026-09-06 22:25:30 492 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/492/ANZ-Staff-Foundation.png none 2026-09-03 08:00:30 491 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/491/Catholic-Caring-Foundatioon.png none 2026-09-03 08:00:10 490 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/490/Davis-and-Carr-Legacies.png none 2026-09-03 07:59:45 489 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/489/Give-a-Kid-a-Blanket.jpg none 2026-09-03 07:59:23 488 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/488/John-Stuart-Booth-Trust.png none 2026-09-03 07:58:57 487 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/487/Louisa-and-Patrick-Emmett-Murphy-Foundation.png none 2026-09-03 07:58:25 486 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/486/Margaret-Olive-Russel-Charitable-Trust.png none 2026-09-03 07:57:56 485 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/485/Dulux.png none 2026-09-03 05:34:28 484 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/484/Devonport-Takapuna-Local-Board.png none 2026-09-03 05:32:21 483 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/483/Howick-Local-Board.png none 2026-09-03 03:47:24 482 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/482/Maurcie-Paykel-Charitable-Trust.png none 2026-09-03 03:45:31 481 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/481/Ministry-for-Ethnic-Communities.png none 2026-09-03 03:44:29 480 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/480/Orakei-Local-Board.png none 2026-09-03 03:40:05 479 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/479/Waitakere-Ranges-Local-Board.png none 2026-09-03 03:38:33 478 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/478/Waitemata-Local-Board.png none 2026-09-03 03:30:25 477 27 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/477/September-2026-Digital-Confidence-Blog-Hero-Web_square.jpg page https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/blog/when-essential-services-move-online-how-to-stay-confident-safe-and-in-control/ 2026-09-01 08:24:35 476 16 https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/476/the-trusts-logo-text.jpeg none 2026-09-01 00:55:02 475 1
The briefing is a response to a report published last month - A place to grow old: Securing the future of aged care - that laid bare the pressure on the sector as the population ages.

The report called for an overhaul of the aged care system, warning there could be a shortage of more than 9000 residential beds in just over a decade - costing the government nearly $600 million more each year. ]]> https://www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz/media/website_posts/475/Screenshot-2026-09-01-124849.png url https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/1202124/steps-to-combat-dementia-could-free-up-thousands-of-aged-care-beds-in-future-report 2026-09-01 00:49:52