Paola Barbarino

Dementia is a leading cause of death in many high-income countries.

But Paola Barbarino, head of Alzheimer's Disease International, says it's often missing from global strategies for addressing non-communicable diseases.

So seeing dementia twice in today's UN document represents a change.

It's historical for us.

It's a real watershed moment.

Barbarino says this is especially significant for low-income countries, where incidence of dementia is growing as life expectancy increases.

And yet... A lot of low-income countries are still in denial about the fact that dementia is a big problem.

Dementia is expected to be the third leading cause of death globally in 2040.

Gabriella Emanuele, NPR News.