IFA Virtual Town Hall Chat Summary 24 April

The following chat summary is from the IFA Virtual Town Hall on 24 April 2020 with Dr. Alexandre Kalache on the Urgency in Low and Middle Income Countries.
Watch the full town hall recording here: https://youtu.be/VXmzs0Fk_TQ

Resources and connections

• Paper at UNRISD.org on “Creative Coalitions”
• Greycells – Association of former international civil servants for development http://www.greycells.ch/

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COVID-19

• is helping many see the inter-connection between generations, and the connections between people in local communities and around the world, and need for collaborations across organizations, and levels of government – we have a far better chance of success in “moving slow and calmly to fix things”…

• Is calling all world leaders to order to concentrate on poor people to spend judiciously on vital services, re-planning the economy so that we have an inclusive society?
• has highlighted that societies view social care as the poor relation to health care.  How will this crisis change the funding and structure of long-term care models?
• as a case example for advocating for a Convention on Human Rights for Older Persons?
• calls for a more objective inter-generational understanding of the risks and the factor of acquiring immunity- as cases show older people who survived,  what can we learn from these examples?

Economies

• Countries are subsiding funds to businesses students, entrepreneur etc…but as yet no senior funding.
• A healthy population means a healthy economy, since governments think in terms of investment, cost/benefit

Gender

• More women are dying in Portugal and in Cameroon, broad range of deaths are older women
• In Australia, more older men are dying. Women are providing the informal care to support people at home who need care.  We have also denied government support to the people who are here on visas, leaving them at extreme risk of poverty and homelessness despite them coming here to support our economy

Human Rights

• The moral wisdom of older people needs to be respected
• Out of a crisis we can bring positive initiatives. Is this a historical moment that can set the grounds for a UN Convention on the Rights of Older People
• Besides a convention, we need to address the accountability question
• The loss of life of older people speaks to the need for a Convention. Ageism has been a theme in press reports of the pandemic as a result of that action.  It is clear existing legislation is not protecting older people.

• LTC systems remain weak because the collective will to remedy them flags soon after crises.  Reforms are implemented only partially, then abandoned.  Collectively, we must act consistently over time.  A Convention will be necessary

Intergenerational movement

• New intergenerational social contract for a new civilization
  • There is no better example of intergenerational solidarity than the grandmothers in sub Saharan Africa who are raising some 15 million AIDS orphans. Families affected by HIV/AIDS are most vulnerable. Yet they are almost never on the agenda.  We must provide help through assistance to community organizations and grandmothers.
  • A new intergenerational coalition will need to bring our interests together – climate, sustainable health care, caregiving (for children and older adults), housing. These key areas of common interest can form the basis of coalition building and solidarity.
  • In Geneva, when public television reports on COVID-19, presented are the number of dead as eg. 45% were people 65+ older alluding to the higher risk for older people however- they do not mentioned who are the 55% majority people who died who are younger than 65? Also, how many of those who survive the virus are older people?

Long Term Care

• In countries with weak social security, where family and community provide support, intergenerational solidarity is critical. but ageism is eroding traditional values
• The value of older adults has been lost by capitalistic productivity views, and LMIC have been enslaved to these modes, leaving behind their traditional cultures of respecting, and valuing older adults.
• LTC systems remain weak because the collective will to remedy them flags soon after crises. Reforms are implemented only partially, then abandoned.  Collectively, we must act consistently over time.  A Convention will be necessary