Active Ageing: A Policy Framework

Abstract

Note: The spelling of 'ageing' and a number of other terms in this report is according to the style of the World Health Organization, rather than to the normal style of the Journal How Old is Older?This booklet uses the United Nations standard of age 60 to describe 'older' people.This may seem young in the developed world and in those developing countries where major gains in life expectancy have already occurred.However, whatever age is used within different contexts, it is important to acknowledge that chronological age is not a precise marker for the changes that accompany ageing.There are dramatic variations in health status, participation and levels of independence among older people of the same age.Decision-makers need to take this into account when designing policies and programmes for their 'older' populations.Enacting broad social policies based on chronological age alone can be discriminatory and counterproductive to well being in older age.The Policy Framework is intended to inform discussion and the formulation of action plans that promote healthy and active ageing.It was developed by WHO's Ageing and Life Course Programme as a contribution to the Second United Nations World Assembly on Ageing, held in April 2002, in Madrid, Spain.The preliminary version, published in 2001 and entitled Health and Ageing: A Discussion Paper, was translated into French and Spanish and widely circulated for feedback throughout 2001 (including at special workshops held in Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom).In January 2002, an expert group meeting was convened at the WHO Centre for Health Development (WKC) in Kobe, Japan, with 29 participants from 21 countries.Detailed comments and recommendations from this meeting, as well as those received through the previous consultation process, were compiled to complete this final version.A complementary monograph entitled Active Ageing: From Evidence to Action is being prepared in collaboration with the International Association of Gerontology (IAG) and will be available at http://www.who.int/hpr/ageingwhere more information about ageing and the life course is also provided. The Aging MaleIn all countries, but in developing countries in particular, measures to help older people remain healthy and active are a necessity, not a luxury.