The longevity dividend: unlocking the potential in an aging world

(Vatican Radio) The world is growing old fast. In the next 10 years, the number of people over age 60 will surpass one billion.

That’s just one of the facts you can read about in “Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A Celebration and A Challenge”, a landmark new report published by UNFPA and HelpAge International.

And as Silvia Stefanoni, Director of Programmes and Policies of HelpAge International points out: It makes the case for governments, NGOs, global institutions, and civil society to fully commit to a concerted global effort to realign 21st century society to fit the realities of 21st century demographics.

Speaking to Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni, Silvia Stefanoni explained that she was in Rome to present the report at a Sant’Egidio Community event on Monday, which also saw the participation of a government minister, FAO’s Assistant Director and a representative for Sant’Egidio’s “Viva gli Anziani” programme for the care of the elderly.

Listen to the interview…

Stefanoni explains that this is the first global report on aging in the world. It is the result of a collaboration between HelpAge International and the UNPFA to review the state of aging in the world.

The key messages of the report are that the aging process is affecting all communities and all countries. It’s an irreversible process. And that aging is here now – it’s not something of the future.

In fact – she says - since 2000 there are more people over 60 than children under 5. And in 2050 there will be more people over 60 then children and young people under 15. So the issue is that aging is something that is happening today.

The other key message is that aging is not only affecting the developed world, but very much the developing countries where the majority of older people live.

Stefanoni talks about the fact that there is so little understanding about the contribution that older people are making to society. And this is very true as regards work and productivity.

Another big issue is that to be able to support an aging population a number of services need to be put into place. And unfortunately these services are still very limited in most parts of the world.

The most important services –she says – are social and healthcare services.

Of course there are many different contexts and realities, but Stefanoni says that one field in which the contribution of elder people is significant is agriculture.

The other main sector in which the contribution of elder people is pivotal is that of care to children and to other older people.

In particular in Sub-Saharan Africa, so many children who have lost their parents to HIV Aids or migration are taken care by their grandparents.

In Australia, for example, older women contribute 16 billion Australian dollars a year to the care work they do for children and older people.

Stefanoni explains that the Sant’Egidio event was organised mainly to launch the report “Aging in the 21^st century”, the summary of which has been published in Italian.

She says it was an occasion to reflect on the need for action. Very important she says is to put in place in all countries a minimum non-contributive pension. A social protection form that governments can put in place allowing all people to have some security in their lives.

She also speaks of the interesting programme organised by the Group “Viva Gli Anziani” that operates across the city of Rome and which is focussed on supporting people to age in their own homes and in their own communities.

Stefanoni says the aging trend is something to be celebrated and she is positive regards its outlook. It is very much an opportunity - she says – the report calls it the “longevity dividend”. It urges us to stop looking at aging as a negative or a concerning trend. We need to look at the opportunities an aging world can bring.

The contribution of an aging population to a society of all ages will be beneficial to all of us.

What needs to be done is clear, but it must be put into place pretty quickly before the difficulties of having a big number of old people who are not active and are not integrated into the community become a problem.

So the issue is: “positive outlook” – “big opportunity” – “let’s take action now”.