The basic rights of older persons need to be protected today, more than ever before, said the UN human rights chief on Monday, but existing legal safeguards render them, in effect, “invisible”.
Greater investment in care services could create nearly 300 million jobs by 2035, the UN’s labour agency, ILO, said in a report published on Monday ahead of International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on 8 March.
More than 55 million people globally are living with dementia, and that number continues to grow, according to a new UN health agency report launched on Thursday, which notes that only one-quarter of the world’s countries have national policies, strategies or support plans in place.
Elderly people often have to give up cycling, due to a fear of injury, but Cycling Without Age, a movement which began in Denmark, is allowing them to regain mobility, and the pleasures of cycling, in safety.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is reckoning with the disproportionate and severe impact that the virus has wrought on the “health…rights and well being” of older persons, the UN chief has said, marking the international day highlighting their issues.
The COVID-19 fatality rate for people over 80-years-old, is five times the global average, the UN Secretary-General said on Friday, launching a new policy initiative to address this and many other challenges faced by the elderly, during and after the biggest public health crisis to hit the world in a century.
António Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General) on the Launch of the Policy Brief on Older Persons
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing untold fear and suffering for older people across the world.
The fatality rate for older people is higher overall, and for those over 80, it is five times the global average.
Beyond its immediate health impact, the pandemic is putting older people at greater risk of poverty, discrimination and isolation. It is likely to have a particularly devastating impact on older people in developing countries.
The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it’s anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living aspects of the goals in their everyday work.
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States and business leaders must step up efforts to ensure that the selfless doctors, nurses, first-responders and other medical professionals working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic receive adequate protective equipment, a UN rights expert said on Friday.