World Health Day 2012 Focuses on Ageing
April 5, 2012 | By Kim Walker
The World Health Organization has chosen ‘Ageing’ as a theme for 2012 Health Day. Download the Global brief: Good Health Adds Life To Years.
Key points:
- While ageing presents challenges to society, it also creates many opportunities.
- Fostering good health in older age is central to the global response to population ageing.
- Poor health in older age is not just a burden for the individual but also for their families and for society as a whole. The poorer the family or the setting, the greater the potential impact.
- The main health challenges for older people are noncommunicable diseases. The impact of these conditions is two to three times greater for older people in low- and middle-income countries than for people in high-income countries.
- Current health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, are poorly designed to meet the chronic care needs that arise from this complex burden of disease.
- Ageing is interrelated with other major global trends such as urbanization, technological change and globalization.
- Increasing longevity may even lead us to rethink the way we view “old” itself.
The document also outlines four key actions that governments and societies can take now for healthier and more active ageing.
