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United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Policy Briefs on Ageing
UNECE Policy Briefs on Ageing provide rapid access to information on the state of the art of policy discourse, translating the detailed scientific and policy issues for a broader audience and demonstrating successful examples of policies and programmes in the UNECE region.
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Mainstreaming Ageing - Revisited
Publication Date: April 2022More LessThe population of the UNECE region is ageing: one in four people will be 65 years old or above by 2050 compared to one in six today. Population ageing has social and economic implications for which societies need to prepare. This requires a coordinated, whole-of-government and whole-of society effort to bring societies and economies into harmony with demographic change, otherwise known as "mainstreaming ageing". A more effective integration of ageing into all policies at all levels will enhance societal preparedness for population ageing and benefit all age groups. This Policy Brief highlights seven key "enablers" for mainstreaming ageing: political and executive leadership, strategic frameworks, governance and coordination mechanisms, age-sensitive analysis and impact assessments, capacity development, enhanced awareness, data and analysis to inform policies, and participatory policymaking.
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Ageing in the Digital Era
Publication Date: August 2021More LessThe 21st Century is characterized by increasing digitalisation. As more and more everyday services move online, ‘offliners’ risk being excluded in an era that embraces fast-changing innovation in digital technology. This predominantly concerns older persons who are less digitally connected than youth who were born into the digital age. The accelerated digitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized these inequalities, as many older persons struggled to access essential goods and services - from online vaccination appointment registrations, to pensions, food and medication during lockdowns - if they could not access them online. Our dependence on digital technologies during the pandemic has therefore focused policy attention on the importance of digital inclusion. The latest UNECE Policy Brief on Ageing examines this ‘digital divide’ between generations and highlights policy priorities for digital inclusion of older persons.
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Older Persons in Emergency Situations
Publication Date: June 2021More LessBetween 2001 and 2019, emergency crises in the UNECE region affected an estimated 130 million people, injuring over 90 million, and making nearly 674,000 people homeless. Though generally disproportionately impacted by emergency crises, older men and women are often neglected in disaster risk reduction strategies and emergency responses. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of older persons carrying the burden of severe illness and mortality as well as of acute loneliness and isolation. As of September 2020, nearly 9 out of 10 COVID-19 related deaths reported in the UNECE region have been among adults aged 65 years and older. Disaster risk reduction and preparedness plans need to be “older persons friendly and inclusive” to prevent and mitigate the UNECE | Standing Working Group on Ageing | www.unece.org/population | [email protected] UNECE Policy Brief on Ageing No. 25 November 2020 potentially devastating implications of emergency crises among them. The challenge is not only to protect older persons and ensure essential services provide for their needs, as part of the emergency response and recovery after crises, it is also to account for the diversity of this population group, recognize their capacities and harness their experience to maximize the preparedness for and minimize the impact of emergencies.
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Ageing in Sustainable and Smart Cities
Author: United NationsPublication Date: June 2020More LessThere is now only a decade left to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A decade of accelerated action is needed to do so and cities are key actors in this process. In an increasingly digitalized world, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can help cities become more efficient in their operations and services and thus more sustainable, with opportunities for a greater quality of life and well-being of city dwellers of all generations, levels of ability and backgrounds. Focusing on three realms of urban life - housing, green and public spaces, and transport - this brief draws attention to the importance of ensuring that the needs of older persons are taken into account when planning, designing and implementing sustainable development plans at the local level. It addresses the question of how policy-makers, business and civil society actors, citizens, young and old, can design age-friendly sustainable urban environments with the help of new technologies that meet the needs of all generations, overcome the digital divide, foster inter-generational solidarity and ensure that older people are not left behind in sustainable and smart cities for all ages.
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Gender Equality in Ageing Societies
Author: United NationsPublication Date: June 2020More LessFaced with population ageing, countries in the UNECE region are preparing for growing numbers of older persons receiving pensions and needing health and long-term care services. An important societal adaptation to ageing has been to increase the labour market participation among women and older persons to ensure the sustainability of social security and protection systems. It is now time that regulatory frameworks, financial provisions and services support the equal sharing of paid and unpaid work in families, households and communities between women and men to close prevailing gender gaps in care, employment, earnings and pensions. Unless gender- and age- responsive reforms are addressing the multiple dimensions of gender inequality in ageing societies, women risk to be disproportionately disadvantaged by the consequences of population ageing, facing double and triple shifts of paid, domestic and care work at the detriment of their own health, earnings and savings which can accumulate to a greater risk of poverty, social isolation and unmet care needs in their own advanced age.
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