A Look At World Aging

 April 12, 2002

(The Associated Press) -- Here are some of the recommendations in the plan of action approved Friday by the U.N. Second World Assembly on Aging:

-Change attitudes, policies and practices so that "the enormous potential of aging in the 21st century may be fulfilled."

-Recognize all human rights and fundamental freedoms of older persons, reaffirming the goal of eradicating poverty in old age.

-Empower older persons to participate in the economic, social and political life of their societies, including through salaried and voluntary work.

-Provide lifelong education opportunities.

-Eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against older persons.

-Eliminate sex discrimination.

-Provide opportunities to continue contributing to society, including helping provide family subsistence, care for family members and household maintenance.

-Respect the right of everyone to live in dignity at all stages of life.

-Encourage employers to recognize the productive capacity of older workers and to enable them to continue working as long as they want and can remain productive.

-Increase awareness in the workplace of the benefits of maintaining an aging work force.

-Promote a new approach to retirement, including reducing the incentives and pressures for early retirement and encouraging working beyond retirement age.

-Strengthen capacity of aging farmers through access to financial services and training.

-Encourage and support small-scale enterprises and farm cooperatives in rural areas.

-Promote adult education. Increase adult literacy by 50 percent by 2015.

-Make new information and communication technologies available to older persons.

-Cut in half the proportion of persons living in extreme poverty by the year 2015.

-Establish community health programs for older persons, providing universal and equal access to primary health care.

-Develop policies to ensure everyone has adequate economic and social protection during old age.

-Urgently establish non-contributory pension and disability benefit systems that ensure minimum income for older persons with no other means of support, most of whom are women.

-Protect older persons, including physical and mental rehabilitation, in situations of armed conflict and foreign occupation.

-Determine the extent of HIV/AIDS infection in older persons.

-Develop national and local programs for prevention, detection and treatment of mental illness, enabling persons with Alzheimer's disease and other sources of dementia to remain at home as long as possible.

-Provide efficient public transportation services in rural and urban areas.

-Establish services for older persons who are victims of neglect, abuse and violence.

-Promote policies that recognize the contributions of older persons, seeking to counteract preconceived biases and myths and to treat them with respect, gratitude, dignity and sensitivity.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.