2021 marks the official start of the Decade of Healthy Ageing, an initiative promoted by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation, with the aim of connecting government agencies, members of civil society, international agencies, professionals, academia, media and individuals to improve the lives of older people, their families and the communities in which they live and to fill gaps in policies, services and systems.
The first action of this working group was the official publication of the World Ageism Report (you can download it for free HERE). This document is part of the WHO global campaign to reduce age-related discrimination that too often affects older people. By influencing the perception of ageing in the general population, this phenomenon hampers the development of targeted ageing policies with a negative impact on the well-being and health of older people.
This campaign against ageism aims to tackle the problem with a threefold approach:
Creating an evidence base on what ageism is, what its effects and impact are
Building a global coalition for data collection, coordinated action and knowledge sharing
Raising awareness about ageism and ageing through events, courses and tools for everyone
The launch event of the report was streamed live on the 18th of March but, for those who missed it, here is the recording!