"This June, leaders from the globe’s eight richest countries, the G8, will assemble in Northern Ireland to discuss major issues related to the world’s economy—among them, the rising threat of dementia in aging populations. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron announced on 15 May 2013 that he will use his country’s turn in the rotating G8 presidency to push for an international agenda on dementia research. This coming September in London, he will convene a summit of world government officials, industry leaders, and other experts to promote collaboration on the issue...
...Cameron’s dementia initiative will not be the first time the G8 has gotten involved in a health issue. Discussions at the 2000 G8 meeting in Okinawa, Japan, and the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa, Italy, were a major factor in the creation in 2002 of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This fund supports research projects and direct efforts to contain the spread of infection—for example, distributing mosquito nets. Funding comes primarily from supporting governments, although private donors also contribute. New HIV infections are on the decline, many countries are on the way to eliminating malaria, and by 2015 tuberculosis deaths are expected to reach half of the 1990 level."