WHO's work on the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing

(2021–2030)
Join the movement on the Decade Platform

Get involved with the Decade  What is WHO's role in the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing?

WHO's work on the Decade action 

areas
WHO's work on the Decade enablers
WHO's work on cross-cutting issues
Collaborative Decade initiatives
How the Decade was developed
The United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) is a global
collaboration, aligned with the last ten years of the Sustainable UN Decade of Healthy Ageing – #AddingLifeToYears
Development Goals, to improve the lives of older people, their families,
 and the communities in which they live. The World Health Organization
was asked to lead the implementation of the Decade in collaboration
with the other UN organizations and serves as the Decade Secretariat.
 Governments, international and regional organizations, civil society, the
private sector, academia and the media are encouraged to actively
contribute to achieving the Decade’s goals through direct action,
 partnering with others, and by participating in the Healthy Ageing
Collaborative.
 Learn more on the Decade Platform: the home of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing
Related links 
Highlights

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WHO's work on the Decade action areas

To foster healthy ageing and improve the lives of older people, their families, and communities, fundamental shifts will be required not only in the actions
we take but in how we think about age and ageing.

The Decade will address four areas for action:

 
 Age-friendly Environments →
Age-friendly environments are better places in which to grow, live, work,
play, and age. We can create them by addressing the social determinants of
healthy ageing and enabling all people, irrespective of their level of physical
or mental capacity, to continue to do the things they value and live dignified
lives.
Within this action area, WHO works with its Member States at national and
local levels to develop age-friendly cities and communities, including
through supporting the Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and
Communities.
Integrated Care →
Older people require a comprehensive set of services to prevent, slow, or
reverse declines in their physical and mental capacities. These services
need to be delivered to meet the person’s needs (person-centred),
coordinated between different health and social care providers, and avoid
causing the user financial hardship.
Within this action area, WHO supports its Member States to understand,
design, and implement a person-centred, integrated model of care by
producing evidence, guidance, and resource packages.
Combatting Ageism →
Ageism is stereotyping (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and
discrimination (how we act) towards people on the basis of their age. It
affects people of all ages but has particularly negative effects on the health
and well-being of older people.
Within this action area, WHO is working to change how we think, feel, and
act towards age and ageing by generating evidence on ageism, building a
global coalition to combat ageism, and developing tools and resources that
can be used by others to take action.
Long-term Care →
Many older people experience declines in their physical and mental
capacity which means they can no longer care for themselves without
support and assistance. Access to good-quality long-term care is essential
for these people to maintain their functional ability, enjoy basic human
rights and live with dignity.
Within this action area, WHO works to provide technical support to
countries for conducting national situation analyses of long-term care
towards implementing a minimum package of long-term care as part of
universal health coverage.
   

WHO's work on the Decade 'enablers'

The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response that seeks to 'do business differently' towards
transformative and positive change for older people, their families, and communities.

The Decade calls for four 'enablers' to be integrated in this effort to shift the status quo. The Decade knowledge Platform convenes and supports
stakeholders to work through these enablers:

Voice and meaningful engagement → Leadership and capacity building →

Meaningful engagement with older people themselves will be critical to
each of the Decade's action areas, as they are agents of change as well as
service beneficiaries. Their voices must be heard, their dignity and
autonomy respected, and their human rights promoted and protected.
WHO works to enable voice and meaningful engagement for the Decade by
developing and supporting others to use innovative methodologies for
amplifying voices, empowering them to influence the implementation of
the Decade.
Fostering healthy ageing and reducing inequity require effective
governance and leadership across all sectors and at all administrative
levels. Capacity building supports different stakeholders develop the
relevant competences needed to ensure that older people experience
health and well-being and enjoy their human rights.
WHO works to build leadership and capacity for the Decade by developing
learning opportunities, mentorship programmes, and other tools that can
help create a global community of change agents.

   
 Connecting stakeholders →
The more stakeholders are brought together across sectors and disciplines,
the greater the possibility they have for leveraging resources, sharing
learning and experience, supporting diffusion of policy and concrete action.
WHO works to connect diverse stakeholders for the Decade by running the
Platform, a digital multilingual collaboration space; convening the Healthy
Ageing Collaborative; and connecting with existing and upcoming
structures and partnerships that address aspects of ageing and health.
The Decade Platform
Healthy Ageing Collaborative
WHO's work on cross-cutting issues
Human behaviour
Abuse of older people
Strengthening data, research, and innovation →
Older people are not a homogeneous group, and data must be produced
and disaggregated to better understand issues affecting their health and
well-being. Strengthening data and research is a key step towards
informing and driving national and local actions that foster healthy ageing.
WHO works to strengthen data, research, and innovation for the Decade by
maintaining an Ageing Data Portal, building the evidence base for
underprioritised issues, and developing a measurement and monitoring
framework for healthy ageing.
WHO Ageing Data Portal
WHO Evidence and Gap Maps for the Decade
WHO Technical Advisory Group for Measurement, Monitoring and
Evaluation of the Decade
Health interventions
Assistive technology
 Diseases and conditions Populations and demographics

Dementia Disability

Injuries Human behaviour

Falls Physical activity

Health systems Health interventions

Palliative care Rehabilitation

Other

Social isolation and loneliness

Documents and publications

 Decade of Healthy Ageing: Plan of Action
This document describes the plan for a Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021–2030, which will consist of 10 years of
concerted, catalytic, sustained collaboration. Older people themselves will be at the centre of this plan, which
will bring together governments,...

Download Read more and access all available languages

14 January 2021 21 December 2020 3 August 2020

WHO Baseline Report for the Decade UN Resolution 75/131: United WHA Resolution 73(12): Decade of
of Healthy Ageing Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing Healthy Ageing 2020–2030
(2021-2030)