The United Nations (UN) Decade of Healthy Ageing was endorsed by the 73rd World Health Assembly on 3 August 2021 and welcomed by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 2021. The Decade is to be a global collaboration, aligned with the last ten years of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, that brings together governments, civil society, international agencies, professionals, academia, the media, and the private sector to improve the lives of older people, their families, and the communities in which they live.
Population ageing is a powerful and transforming force that impacts the social, health and economic fabric of society. The next ten years will be foundational to improving the lives of older people, their families, and the communities in which they live now and for generations to come.
Policies impacting the lives of older people cut across many governmental portfolios such as health and digital literacy, food security and nutrition, human rights, ageism, housing, financial resilience, and long-term care to mention just a few. Common cross-cutting policy agendas that draw on evidence from all levels of government rarely make the necessary connections and linkages for a comprehensive plan of action. There is a clear gap of evidence-to-action where the bottom-up approach meets the top-down approach to policy that civil society can help inform and drive.
Civil society organizations working together represent a defining force to help influence and shape policy that impacts the lives of current and future generations of older people. Together they play a pivotal role in reinforcing the need for strategic action across sectors, disciplines and government ministries, with a common goal of improving the health (in the broadest sense) and wellbeing of older people, and protecting their rights, during and living with the impact of the pandemic. Strong leadership that includes civil society is needed to realise the potential of the Decade of Healthy Ageing for current and future generations of older people.
The Summary Report is now available here.