We live in an ageing world. By 2030, 1.4 billion people will be aged over 60, and this is expected to rise to 2.1 billion by 2050. While this presents challenges, it also provides enormous opportunities. Older people have much to offer to their families and communities, from providing care and financial assistance to sharing knowledge and expertise.
Despite this, many older people’s basic needs are not being met and their human rights are overlooked. Older women in particular often spend their later years without adequate access to financial support, healthcare and social care, and their experiences and contributions remain invisible. We must do more to ensure older people are not marginalised and can lead dignified lives.
Age International's new manifesto, 'Building A Better World For Older People', advocates for a world where everyone is included and valued. We believe the UK Government has the opportunity to create real change and improve the lives of millions of older people in low and middle-income countries.
Our manifesto reflects the voices, experiences and aspirations of older people and their communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. They are facing numerous challenges, from age-related health problems to humanitarian disasters and climate change. We want to show how the UK Government can achieve tangible, impactful change.
We already lost our cattle. Now [the drought] is affecting our lives. We can’t buy food because we don’t have any money so we don’t eat. I am an old man. I need food to survive.
- Jatani, Ethiopia
We're calling on the UK Government to take these five calls to action to improve the lives of older people:
Champion the creation of a United Nations Human Rights Convention for Older Persons to ensure older people across the world live with dignity and respect.
Recognise the contributions of older women to their families, communities and societies and ensure UK Government support responds to their economic, health and social needs.
Ensure the UK Government’s contribution to global health system strengthening considers older people's needs and maintenance of health at all ages, with better primary care and greater focus on chronic illnesses.
Embed the inclusion of older people in UK Government policy and programmes on international development, humanitarian response, and climate change.
Invest in improved international collection and analysis of data, so experience of later life is more visible to decision makers.
We support older people facing challenging situations through our partner HelpAge International and its global network, and can see progress being made in the five areas above. For example:
However, we know more needs to be done. With the world's population ageing, it is essential governments and policymakers take steps to ensure older people are not left behind.
We want to ensure the issues affecting older people are firmly on the radar of the next UK Government and Opposition.To do this, we must show that it matters to the UK public.
Our report draws on evidence and experience from our work in areas such as access to healthcare, addressing chronic diseases and humanitarian response.
Older women are contributing unrecognised yet critical support to their families, communities and economies through their paid and unpaid work. Our new report gives voice to older women’s experiences.
