UNECE Marks World Population Day with a call to protect the interests of older people
Later this year, the population of the world will reach 7 billion people.
Half a billion of these people will be aged 65 years or older. In the UNECE region, with a total population of 1.2 billion, 174 million people (14.5 per cent) are aged 65 or older. In every world region the proportion of older people is increasing as life expectancy rises and fertility declines; but this trend is especially pronounced in the UNECE region. In Germany and Italy, a fifth of the population is aged 65 or above, and by as early as 2020 this threshold will have been passed by 17 of UNECE’s 56 member States.
Every person in this world of 7 billion — from newborn infants to centenarians — should enjoy the same rights and opportunities. As societies around the world strive to end poverty, protect health and safeguard education for their citizens, it must be remembered that these goals apply to people of all ages — including older people. At the same time, we need to recognize the positive contributions of older people’s knowledge, experience and capacities.
In 2002 the member States of UNECE committed to building ‘a society for all ages’, and in this year of 7 billion they are reflecting on how far they have come. Each member State is reviewing its progress in implementing the regional strategy for the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing: a strategy which makes commitments in ten key areas including health and well-being, employment, social participation and intergenerational solidarity. Countries are looking at how they have adapted policies and programmes to fulfil this strategy, and are examining the lives of older people to see whether these policies are working, and where challenges remain. Their results will be presented next year at a conference in Vienna marking the tenth anniversary of the Madrid Plan and its regional implementation strategy.
On 11 July 2011, World Population Day, UNECE reaffirms the call for a society for all ages — one in which no need is neglected, no contribution goes unnoticed and no group is sidelined because of their age..
World Population Day has been observed annually since 1989. The day helps to build awareness of population issues, highlighting the relationships between population and development, the environment and human rights. The theme of this year’s World Population Day is ‘7 billion actions’ (www.7billionactions.org), highlighting 7 key challenges the world faces: including the unprecedented global challenge of ageing.
For more information visit www.unece.org/pau/welcome.html or contact [email protected]