Role of older people, fighting poverty and support for families among themes stressed at Ageing Assembly, Madrid

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While the Government bears the basic responsibility of providing services for the people, a number of partnerships have been forged in the last five years, primarily with NGOs and religious institutions, to provide services for the elderly. We are particularly enthusiastic about the concept of inter-generational centres. Those centres, located in residential communities in New Providence, have been built by the Government and are run by our churches. They combine residential care for elderly persons with day care services for infants and toddlers. The positive interaction between the two groups and the surrounding community has clearly indicated that the concept is successful and worth replicating throughout the Bahamas and beyond.

ADALGISA ABREU SANCHEZ, Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Welfare of the Dominican Republic: We support the spirit of this World Assembly and welcome efforts to devise positive activities to the benefit of older persons of the world. In 1982, the Dominican Republic was one of the Vice-Presidents of the First World Assembly on Ageing. Since that time, the country has put forward consistent proposals to the United Nations to increase the quality of life of older people, particularly in developing countries.

In 1998 and as a result of the International Year of Older Persons, our country promulgated a code for the rights of older persons. Last year, a law on health was adopted which stipulates that there will be broader coverage of better health services to the poor. That, together with the creation of the social security system, constitute social tools that can be used to meet the various needs of older people, who will participate actively.

As a society, we must address the situation of abuse and abandonment of older people, which is a violation of their human rights. We propose a convention to reinforce and ratify the agreements reached in the Plan of Action. We will only be able to build a just society if we change the current system of inequity and injustice.

ZALMAI HAGANI, Ambassador of Afghanistan to France: It is extremely important for me to represent the Interim Administration of Afghanistan. We are moving into a new phase of our history, aiming to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as establishing a framework for the country's overall sustained economic and social development following 23 years of conflict and destruction. In all our efforts, we thank the United Nations and its relevant agencies and funds. The world is facing a global phenomenon as the numbers of elderly persons begin to overtake the number of younger persons. We know that, proportionally speaking, older women outnumber men. We can see that the causes for this phenomenon are many, including improved health care and shifts in birth and death rates.

This phenomenon exists for Afghanistan as well. While the demographic shifts in our country mirror the general situation around the world, the effects are particularly exacerbated by isolation and the breakdown of the family unit following so many years of violence and deprivation. The Interim Government is doing everything in its power to help address the various social and development issues in the wake of the protracted violence, particularly those which have seriously affected the elderly population. At present, everything we do depends largely on the amount of economic support we receive. I would like to call on this distinguished Assembly to support our efforts as we await the further support of the wider international community.

IVAN SIMONOVIC (Croatia), President of the Economic and Social Council: The time has come to explore together the nature and scope of demographic ageing throughout the world and the impact this has had on the individual, the family, society, as well as on economies and cultures. In this, the significant gender dimension must not be overlooked. I would like to emphasize that the adoption of commitments and guiding principles of major United Nations conferences and summits during the past years have played a significant role in advancing the framework for policies on ageing.

In addition to its responsibilities to the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development, the Commission for Social Development supported the preparatory process for the Second World Assembly on Ageing by serving as its preparatory committee. The Commission on Population and Development has been examining and assessing the trends, determinants and consequences of population ageing. A major task of the Commission is to monitor, review and assess the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development at the national, regional and international level. In this context, I want to emphasize the importance of mainstreaming the subject of ageing in the global agenda.

The Economic and Social Council is a coordinating body, establishing links with and among functional commissions on cross-cutting issues in the economic and social field. In addition, the Council is committed to providing guidance to the United Nations on how to ensure a coordinated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits. The follow-up process of this World Assembly would provide an opportunity for the Council to become a key global platform to enhance policy coherence in the area of ageing among global partners. This Assembly is a unique opportunity for setting practical targets and agreeing upon concrete action for implementation. These next few days can lay the foundation for a society that is more just and inclusive for all.

THORAYA AHMED OBAID, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), also on behalf of Mark Malloch-Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): The graying of the planet represents the most significant population shift in history. Today, people are living longer than ever before. While this is an accomplishment worthy of celebration, our joy is tempered by the awareness that in some countries, gains in life expectancy are being rolled back by the ravages of HIV/AIDS. We are at a critical juncture. With world populations increasing so rapidly, the next few decades will test our ability to address health-care issues, retirement and pension benefits, as well as other issues related to senior citizens. While many people are living longer, they are facing a future without a social safety net.

We are gathered in Madrid to ensure that older persons have a future worth living -- conditions not characterized by poverty, loneliness, poor health, abuse and discrimination. The issues of ageing must be at the centre of the global development agenda. We will never adequately address poverty without reducing the overwhelming poverty that afflicts older people. Today, many of the 400 million older persons living in developing countries are living below the poverty line. Meeting the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty by 2050 requires that poverty reduction strategies focus not only on the poorest persons, but on the most vulnerable elderly, especially women. We must also concentrate on breaking the cycle of poverty that runs from one generation to the next.

Research commissioned by UNFPA in India and South Africa last year found that the main concerns of older people include inadequate living conditions, lack of access to social service, and inter-generational violence and abuse. Poverty among the elderly is also linked to low literacy levels, especially women, as well as low levels of health, lack of awareness and access to information. Older people identified their priority needs as food security, clean water, good health, adequate accommodation and supporting caring for their families. Due to the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS virus, elderly people were increasingly acting as caregivers for their adult children, as well as their orphaned grandchildren, despite their own precarious situations.

In all our efforts, we should not underestimate the role that cultural values and traditions play in older peoples lives. Culture conditions the attitudes and behaviour of older people and the perceptions and practices of the society around them. We must build on positive cultural values to encourage the protection and respect of older persons. This is
particularly true of older women living in societies where gender-based violence and mental or emotional abuse goes ignored. We need laws and policies to promote the welfare of ageing, but we also need to work at the community level to make sure legal policy changes are sustainable.

YITZHAK BRICK, President, International Federation on Ageing: The International Federation on Ageing is a diverse membership that includes grass-roots organizations and service providers in 50 countries. Its core mission is to improve the quality of life of older persons and enhance their rights. During the International Year of Older Persons in 1999, the IFA produced the Montreal Declaration on rights of older persons. It has conducted a global study among 30,0000 older adults and those working with them from 71 countries.

The study reveals that the elderly believe that in many parts of the world the quality of life has deteriorated over the last decade. The worst situation is in the developing countries, where 87 per cent of respondents from low-income countries believed that the situation of elderly persons is worse than it was 10 years ago. Based on studies undertaken by the Federation and consultation with other NGOs, we have identified a number of key issues that require immediate action.

Some of the recommendations include: governments should develop and adopt procedures and ways for including older citizens in policy discussions and decision-making; governments should implement flexible retirement-age policies which allow people to move in and out of the workplace throughout their life; governments must commit themselves to taking concrete actions to prevent and eliminate the neglect and abuse of older peoples; and NGOs should be invited to be equal partners with governments in shaping new policies and in the provision of programmes and services. The United Nations programme on ageing needs to be strengthened if it is to fulfil the mandate given by Madrid. An extra-budgetary fund has to be created to support field experiments and pilot programmes. The funds could be administered jointly by established international NGOs, with consultation and the support of the United Nations programme on ageing.

ANNA DIAMANTOPOULOU, Commissioner responsible for Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission: People in many parts of the world are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. This offers the opportunity for a new life model -- a new society where men and women can have new roles and new lifestyles. This is most probably a reflection of all the technological and scientific advances of the last century. Yet somehow, this positive trend is being portrayed as the latest "bad news". Of course, the statistics seem alarming, especially in Europe, where one person in three will be at least 60 years old by 2050.

All of this has major social and economic implications. But what we are primarily facing is the failure or reluctance to address two major problems -- we are failing to replace our populations, with low birth rates causing widespread demographic distortions, and, we are encouraging people to have shorter working lives, just at the time when they are ready to take more responsibilities. The policy implications are clear. We need to bring our populations back into balance. And we need to take a much more positive view of immigration if we are to deliver the improved quality of life that longevity will bring us.

Ageing affects not just older people but all ages and all social policies. That is why the European Union has taken positive steps to address the coming challenges. We recognize that women are at the heart of the ageing challenge. But they are also at the heart of the ageing solution. Women bear the lion's share of responsibilities, not only of caring for children, but caring for dependent older people as well.

We must work to create a society where women and men share responsibilities. Such notions can never be achieved without concrete action. We are working actively to raise the employment rates of women in the European Union. We are also working on child care. We are working to ensure gender integration at all levels and in all policies. Recently the Union has endorsed a new report on active ageing in Europe to enable people to continue to contribute to society as they age. We are working closely with our Member States to put more emphasis on jobs and skills training for our elderly populations. We are also enhancing our laws to end discrimination on the basis of age. We support the United Nations call for coordinated international support to implement initiatives on ageing and will continue to work with relevant agencies and funds to that end.

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