Population ageing has been identified by the Government of Belarus as a major challenge. At the request of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus, UNECE has started working on a roadmap supporting the Government of Belarus in the development of a National Strategy on Ageing in 2019.
Following earlier roadmap projects with Armenia, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, this collaboration will be the fourth collaboration using the roadmap methodology to develop a national strategy on ageing in support of implementing the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and its Regional Implementation Strategy at national level.
UNECE Roadmaps for Mainstreaming Ageing are prepared at the request of national governments. They identify concrete actions relevant to the economic, social, cultural and political specificities of the country. Roadmaps are developed using a wide-ranging participatory process: not only the Government but also civil society, academia, the private sector and older people themselves are consulted so that the recommendations reflected the views of all sectors of society.
A first visit by UNECE in December 2018 provided the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities that population ageing represents for the Republic of Belarus. The team met with key stakeholder groups, including representatives of relevant line ministries, parliamentarians, the National Statistical Committee (BelStat), representatives of civil society, academia and research centres, service providers, local government and older persons themselves.
The focus group discussions held will complement an extensive review of national legislation, research and other information sources, including media monitoring on the representation of older persons to inform the development of a National Strategy on Ageing planned for 2019.
For more information on UNECE Roadmaps on Mainstreaming Ageing visit: http://www.unece.org/pau/age/capacity/welcome.html