2015 Global Agewatch Index measures wellbeing of older people

(Vatican Radio) As life lengthens for people in developed nations, global inequality among older people is also increasing with a life expectancy gap widening between rich and poor nations.

This is just one of the facts to emerge from the 2015 Global Agewatch Index that was launched on Wednesday by HelpAge International, the global network that helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty.

Another distressing fact that emerged is that millions of older people are invisible as they live in countries where information on the quality of older age is missing from international data bases.

The 2015 Index, which ranks 96 countries according to the social and economic wellbeing of older people, provides governments and policy-makers with precious information and data to assist them in developing solutions to the challenges facing their growing older populations.

Author and architect of the Index is HelpAge International’s Jane Scobie who spoke to Linda Bordoni about it:

Listen to the interview: 

Scobie explains that the Index measures quality of life for older people around the world and it covers 96 countries.

The Index – she says – looks at four key areas: income, health, access to work and education and age-friendly environment.

“This allows countries to compare, within their geography, who’s doing well and who’s not doing well and the idea is to exchange experience” she says.

The good news for an organization such as HelpAge which has been advocating for the recognition of rights of elder persons for many years, is that when the Sustainable Development Goals with their 17 goals and 169 targets are adopted at the United Nations at the end of September, issues regarding an aging population will be included.

But Scobie points out that although the Index has provided policy-makers with precious data regarding poverty and elder people and their quality of life, the Index includes only 96 countries while it is missing 93 countries because of lack of information.

“So as governments come together to agree on the global targets, if they are not able to monitor or measure the reality in all countries, there is going to be a real issue that many older people will miss out” she says.

Scobie says that examining the 2015 data and looking back at some of the key targets of the past years  “what we’ve found is that reliance on economic development alone has left some people out so we can see there is an increase in inequality between the countries at the bottom of the index and those at the top”.

She also points out that austerity measures are impacting older people (the cutting of pensions in Greece for example) so she says “there is a real danger that the gains we have had over the last years could stabilize or even go backwards, so we need to really prepare for population aging”.

It is not surprising to read that at the top of the Index is Switzerland and other North European countries; Afghanistan is ranked the last.

Scobie says that it is very encouraging to see a growth of older people’s associations (especially in Asia) and that it is a very positive sign to see older people coming together and planning for their own communities.

Scobie concludes saying Pope Francis’ amazing leadership has really helped focus the spotlight on this area and she believes his repeated appeals to include and care for older men and women around the world will help guide legislators and policymakers as they put the finishing touches to the new Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information on the 2015 Global Agewatch Index and on HelpAge International click here.