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China's Population and Development in the 21st Century (December 20, 2000)
China published a document titled “China’s Population and Development in the 21st Century.” The full text of this document, taken from China Daily discusses the current situation of the elderly, children, economy, and poverty in China. The Information Office of the State Council further elaborates on initiatives and actions that the government intends to take with hopes of improving China for the 21st century. 

More Respect for Our Elders (September 6, 2000)
An article found in the China Daily discusses how the Chinese government recognizes the need for a nationwide effort to assist the growing number of elderly people, including some living in rural areas. Special hotlines and health care initiatives have been launched in preparation for this expected surge in the number of aging in China. 

World Health Report 2000
The full version of the 2000 World Health Report.

A series of  excerpts taken from different articles published in The New York Times, assessing Russia's terrible situation, particularly in Health Care.

• Russia 1(December 3, 2000) 
  An Ailing Russia Lives a Tough Life That's Getting Shorter
• Russia 2(December 4, 2000) 
  In Russia Ill and Infirm Include Health Care Itself
• Russia 3(December 5, 2000) 
  Infectious Diseases Rising Again In Russia

Indonesian Elderly Proliferate (November-December, 2000)
Owing to the increase in the number of elderly people  in Indonesia, the national government has decided to implement a plan of action intended to ameliorate the current welfare system. Main focus will now be on how to deal with the elderly in the future. 

Glaxo's expanding galaxy (November 23,  2000)
This article, published in The Economist , discloses us how powerful and wealthy the big pharmaceutical companies are, particularly a British one, Glaxo Wellcome, which has decided to merge with SmithKline Beecham, another big firm. It gives us details and descriptions of the drugs' business world where profits and benefits are the key words.

A Former President's Plea To Curb AIDS in Africa (November 16,  2000) This article, taken from The International Herald Tribune, is written by the former US President, Jimmy Carter, who gives his personal point of view about the drug issues in Africa.

Le soutien aux personnes agées repose encore sur la solidarité familiale
(November 14,  2000)
(in French) The following article, published in the daily newspaper Le Monde, gives an interesting insight into the French way of taking care of elderly people underscoring the importance of family support. This trend might though run out of steam due to the ageing of the population.

In Rural China, a Steep Price of Poverty: Dying of AIDS (October 28, 2000)
In China’s Henan Province, a small rural village is combating AIDS. With limited knowledge about the disease, and no money for drugs, many farmers have no choice but to wait for the sickness to take its course. Faulty blood collection methods in many rural villages have led to high rates of HIV. The New York Times article talks to Dr. Gao Yaojie, a gynecologist who is trying to educate villagers throughout China about AIDS. 

Helping the Aged to be Top Challenge (October 9, 2000)
According to an article published in the China Daily, China foresees great obstacles in caring for their increasing aging population. Predictions indicated approximately 165 million people over the age of 60 at the end of the year 2000. As the tradition of extended families becomes less popular with the times, more and more of the aging are left to take care of themselves.

Safety Nets in Rapidly Reforming Transition Countries (September 27, 2000)
This article published in The Guardian, reports the state of welfare in most transition countries. The article underscores that even though the systems are far from being perfect, there has been a significant improvement over the ten past years.

N'oublions pas Alzheimer (September 21, 2000)
(In French) Alzheimer’s disease affects 100 000 new patients per year in France. This article in L’Express discusses the development of the disease and the efforts that are being made to find medication to slow the process of this disease.

For Love of Country (September 18, 2000)
Singapore has placed increasing importance on the connection between economics and demography.  The L.A. Times reports that Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has urged Singaporeans to increase procreativity rates.  Citing Japan as an example, he fears that a disproportionate young and elderly population in Singapore will hurt health care, pension funds, and the national economy.

Not Demography, but tears (September 13, 2000) 
The life expectancy of Russians is declining year after year. Moreover, men live on average 12 years less than women, states the Argumenti i Fakti. 

Deprivation study pinpoints ethnic divide among elderly (September 13, 2000)
This article from The Guardian is based on the data of a report by the Office for National Statistics in Great Britain. It demonstrates how the elderly from Pakistan and Bangladesh are more likely to suffer from deprivation than other ethnic groups in Great Britain.

Nutrition for Longevity (Autumn, 2000)
Longevity is the cherished dream of every human being. What, one may ask, is the actual age limitation for human beings? Is it possible to secure an active, creative life for 100 years? Of course. Azerbaijan has one of the highest rates of longevity in the world. In the 1981 census, Azerbaijan recorded 14,486 people aged 100 or older. In other words, 48.3 people per 100,000 inhabitants. Even though longevity is mostly determined by heredity, diet definitely plays a role in achieving this goal. What do centenarians eat in Azerbaijan?

Heart Study Looks At Education (August 28, 2000)
A study at the Duke University Medical Center found that those who have more years of education and occupy higher level jobs are less likely to have a heart attack.

The Power to Go On and On (July 28, 2000)
This article, extracted from Asian Week, shows that Asians are living longer and better. The author focuses on two important points in order to stay healthy more longer: have a good style of living and stay lively. In rural China, living standards have improved as incomes rise.

The End of Dying (July 28, 2000)
This article, from Asian Week, shows that scientists are studying the genetics of aging. Traditionally, they believed that aging was a biological process in which cells simply stopped dividing. They now know it is not that simple. Some scientists are predicting that, within this century, they can push the maximum human lifespan beyond 120 years.  

From Our Correspondent: A Club for Evergreens (July 19, 2000)
 Asiaweek discusses the luxurious facilities that China’s first villa devoted to senior citizens. Located two hours by boat from Hong Kong, the Evergreen Club provides you with everything from a full golf course to medical coverage. The price tag for a Gold Membership is $52,000. As the aging population increases at 1% a year in Hong Kong, the developer of the Evergreen Club envisioned building a facility tailored to the rich. 

Health Care: The Key To Decent Work? (June 21, 2000)
The following article is an ILO's document, written in the aftermath of the World Labour Report 2000, providing a general background on health care issues in the world. More information on the subject can be obtained on the following website: www.ilo.org

Japanese Have Longest Healthy Lives (June 4, 2000)
According to the World Health organization, this article shows that Japanese have the longest health lives followed by Australian and French. The united states ranks only 24th. The bottom ranked countries among the WHO members are all in sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO study focuses on healthy life expectancy, not on the numbers of years spent alive, because it is a better indication of the real state of health in the world. The New York Times reports.

Birthrate dips in Ex-Communist Countries (May 4, 2000)
According to a United Nations report, the collapse of Communism in 1989 produced a sharp drop in the fertility rate throughout Eastern and Central European countries and a decrease in the region’s population of nearly 20 percent by the year 2050. A result is also a more numerous aging population in an economy without enough young workers to grow and pay for the rising number of pensioners.

Aging Populations in Europe, Japan, Korea require Action (March 22, 2000)
As more countries become aware of potential population problems, many feel that increasing migration is the only solution in preventing a decreasing population.  According to the India Times, working immigrants will also provide countries with more money in aiding the elderly by maintaining the ratio of the working-age population to the retired-age population.     

Elderly Get Help During Festival (February 4, 2000)
China Daily reports that the Chinese government is taking steps to aide its growing number of elders. The China National Committee passed out 1.8 million yuan to 3,622 of the elderly and to the poor. Zhang Wenfan, the chairman of the committee, is on tour visiting the elderly in all parts of the country. Organizations and societies throughout China are asking for public support in caring for its elders.

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything? (February 1, 2000)
This article from The Times conveys how older people perceive the passage of time and their feelings regarding their experiences.

Age-old problem of elderly acquires greater urgency (January 22, 2000)
In Ireland, the number of persons aged 65 and over will rise from 413,291 (or 11.4% of the population) in 1996 to 753,500 (18.2%) in 2026. The issue of caring for the elderly is going to become much graver in the next decades. The number of nursing homes will not be large enough for the elderly's needs. The author does not anticipate any widespread behavioral changes, such as better nutrition, more exercise, access to "healthy aging programs" which have reduced frailty and poor health in old age. This article, published in The Irish Examiner, participates in defining older people as a "problem".

Health and Population Aging: A Multinational Comparison (October 1999)
This Commonwealth Fund file compares demography, health care costs, long term care, retirement age, income and public policy in 8 industrialized countries and explores the impact on the care and well-being of the elderly.

Rapport du comite de pilotage pour l'annee internationale des personnes agees (1999)
1999 is the International Year of the Older Persons according to the United Nations. For celebrating this occasion, the French government has asked 4 groups, each one including health professionals, family associations, insurance comities to make the actual summary of what exists in France and what has to be changed for increasing the public politics toward the elderly.

Armenian Partners Address Women's Health Issues (Fall 1999)
According to the US National Cancer Institute, the breast cancer rate in Armenia has been steadily climbing, with about 32 women per 100,000.  To explore this more inclusive view of women's health, more than 75 NIS and American physicians and nurses attended a one-day women's health conference at Erebuni Medical Center in Yerevan, Armenia in July.

Démographie en France (December, 1999)
(in French) This documents contents demographic data in France.

Is An End to the Family Ahead? (August 20/27, 1999)
This Asiaweek article looks into the possible societal changes that may occur due to the expected increase of elders in Asian countries. In Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, and Singapore, percentages of the aged are due to steadily increase. Changes that may occur include a more elder-targeted consumer market, less traditionally Asian extended families, and a decrease in children’s values. 

The Age of Reason (July 15-21, 1999)
The UN's designation of 1999 as "the year of the aged" encouraged the Egyptian magazine Al-Ahram Weekly to study the elderly's situation in the country. According to an UN report, the author shows that no policy on elderly exists apart from services provided by religious and charity organizations. The tradition of family care for the oldest is also strong, and retirement homes were stigmatized. But the situation is changing slowly. The need for retirement homes will become more and more important, because, in 2030, 12 million Egyptians, representing 10 per cent of the population, will be 60 and more. The author focuses also on Egyptian health policy, age of retirement and pensions.

Les médicaments et le consommateur dans la Communauté européenne (March 12, 1999) (in French)
Since 1965, the European Community set forth a legislative system in the field of medicines. The system is based on the principle that all the medicines made or marketed in member states should be reliable, effective and of high quality. One of the most important distinctions between medicines and other consumer goods is that the use of medicines has grave implications in terms of health service and safety: a preliminary license in the market is essential. 

Promoting active long life (December, 1998) (in Ukranian)
A story about the foundation and work of the Kiev University for the Third Age People – a public organization that promotes healthy life among older people in Ukraine. Pensioners can learn basics of gerontology to practical advice about how to keep physical and mental health in older age.