Blogs

COP21: Fantastic achievement but doesn’t deliver for older people

The Paris climate change agreement, the final pillar of the post-2015 agenda to be agreed this year, is deservedly being described as a historic pact, succeeding where others have failed. It's legally binding and, despite a huge range of opinions...

World AIDS Day: Ending the AIDS pandemic

HIV still remains one of the major challenges of the 21st century. This World AIDS Day we stand with the rest of the world in working towards the end of AIDS, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. This will...

Breaking the silence on elder abuse in Moldova

On 12 November 2015 we launched the research report, Breaking the Silence: Elder abuse in the Republic of Moldova, which brought to light the hidden and distressing phenomenon of discrimination and abuse of older women and men. The report...

World Diabetes Day: Older people mobilised in Kyrgyzstan

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasingly on the agenda of countries across the world, as more and more they become the cause of premature death and disability. The World Health Organization has called on all member states to develop policies a

Mzee Clement Kwezi: a leading figure on ageing issues in Tanzania

He is vibrant, energetic and exudes a warmth that affects all around him. His demeanor belies his age. Seated among younger journalists attending a media training workshop organised by HelpAge International's Tanzania office this month, the 79-year-old

The SDGs’ next step: finalising indicators

Having been successful in ensuring people of ages are explicitly included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), HelpAge has turned its attention to the effort to develop a set of indicators with which to monitor progress against the goals...

What does healthy ageing mean?

Last week I joined over 180 stakeholders in Geneva as the World Health Organization (WHO) consulted civil society, member states and UN agencies on its five-year Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health, due to be implemented...

Sexually-transmitted diseases in older age are an area of neglect

HIV's disconnect with people in older age in terms of programmes, priorities and strategies has increasingly been discussed over recent years. Yet, conversations on sexually-transmitted diseases overall remain more neglected. Despite the vast number an