NGO Forum on Ageing 5-9 April 2002

MARC DANZON, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE EUROPEAN OFFICE OF THE WHO: “WE SHOULD PROMOTE PREVENTION, THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE LIVING STANDARD AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT”

NGO Forum on Ageing
April 8, 2002

On World Day of Health, we asked for the opinion of two representatives of WHO, Marc Danzon, Regional Director of the European Office, and Alexandre Kalache, Chief of the WHO's Ageing and Course of Life Program. In this interview, both delegates share their points of view about the world health situation and the standards that will set the future.

Q- Are there any important differences between the major health problems that affect elderly people worl-wide?

A-They might not be in the nature of the problem but they are in how we treat a suffering older person, due to structural and cultural differences. As a consequence, we have to look for an independent solution for each country or region where there are  ill people, either Africa or New York. I don’t think we could export a pattern that had worked out among different cultures. The problems are specific so we have to find alternatives for each case.

Q- What are the predictions for elderly people in the future? Is there a place for hope?

A- Of course, I think that we always have the impression of being the first generation on the earth, when thousands of people have passed before us and have fought against big disasters. I trust man’s intelligence and capacity to carry on. Despite the pessimistic predictions, the world won’t stop.

Q- And what about quality of life?

A-We will fight to postpone the appearance of illnesses in elderly people. Evidently, as ageing appears there is a non-stop process towards chronic pathologies that sooner or later will affect everyone. However, we won’t  stop promoting the education of prevention methods, the improvement of the style of life and the mobilization of older people. If we reach that and, what I consider to be the most important thing, economic development as a poor older person has more possibilities to get ill earlier, we would have advanced a lot.