III. Recommendations for Action

A. Goals and policy recommendations

General policy recommendations

The following summarized considerations, based on the above remarks, may provide guidelines for the consideration of policies and specific actions:

• The progressive ageing of societies, the continuing increase of the elderly population both in absolute and in proportional terms, is neither an unexpected, unforeseeable event nor a random result of national and international development efforts. It is the first and most visible outcome of a sectorally-based approach to socio-economic development all over the world and should be accompanied by equally efficient interventions in other areas in order to ensure balanced growth and integrated development;
• With a long-term view to slowing down the overall ageing of the community, Governments may be able to take the measures necessary to adjust or avoid imbalances between age groups, while preserving the right to life of the elderly;
• To this end, policies and actions should be inspired by the determination to give further qualitative content and meaning to a quantitative process in order to make sure that the generally expanding lifespan of individuals the world over will be accompanied by efforts to fill these extra years with a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and that people will not be relegated to a marginal and passive role after a certain age level;
• As the transition into old age is a gradual and individual process, notwithstanding the statutory retirement age limits adopted in some countries and cultures, all policies and programmes should be based on the fact that ageing is a natural phase of an individual's life cycle, career and experience, and that the same needs, capacities and potentialities usually prevail over the entire lifespan;
• As most people can expect to survive their own retirement age by a substantial number of years, the concept of 'preparation for retirement' should not continue to be conceived as a last-minute adaptation but be proposed as a lifelong consideration from adulthood onwards -- as much to the individual for his or her future benefit, as to policy makers, universities, schools, industrial work centres, the media and society at large. It should serve as a reminder that policies on ageing and for the elderly are an important society-wide concern, and not solely a question of caring for a vulnerable minority. For this reason, this calls for a general policy of prevention;
• Policies to meet the challenge of a growing, healthier and more active elderly population -- based on the view of the ageing of society as an opportunity to be utilized -- automatically benefit the individual ageing person, materially and otherwise. Similarly, any effort to ameliorate the quality of life for the elderly, and to meet their diverse social and cultural needs, enhances their capacity to continue interacting with society. In this sense, the developmental and the humanitarian aspects of the question of ageing are closely intertwined;
• It is imperative that, when considering the question of ageing, the situation of the elderly should not be considered separate from the overall socio-economic conditions prevailing in society. The elderly should be viewed as an integral part of the population. They should also be considered within the framework of population groups such as women, youth, the disabled, and migrant workers. The elderly must be considered an important and necessary element in the development process at all levels within a given society;
• Ageing is apparent in the working-age population long before the number of persons over 60 increases. It is essential to adapt the labour policy as a whole and technology and economic organizations to this situation;
• This consideration should be accompanied by recognition of the fact that for the elderly in general -- and particularly for those beyond a certain higher age (the 'old old') -- policies have to be considered and programmes implemented in response to their specific needs and constraints. Sectoral interventions in such fields as health and nutrition, housing, income security, and social, cultural and leisure activities are as necessary for the elderly as for other population groups, and should be provided for by each country or community according to the means available to it. It is recognized that the extent of the provision that can be made, and its timing, will be affected by prevailing economic circumstances;
• Policies and action aimed at benefiting the ageing must afford opportunities for older persons to satisfy the need for personal fulfilment, which can be defined in its broader sense as satisfaction realized through the achievement of personal goals and aspirations, and the realization of potentialities. It is important that policies and programmes directed at the ageing promote opportunities for self-expression in a variety of roles challenging to themselves and contributory to family and community. The principal ways in which older people find personal satisfaction are through: continued participation in the family and kinship system, voluntary services to the community, continuing growth through formal and informal learning, self-expression in arts and crafts, participation in community organizations and organizations of older people, religious activities, recreation and travel, part-time work, and participation in the political process as informed citizens.

A priority consideration for all countries is how to ensure that their vast humanitarian efforts in favour of the elderly do not result in the maintenance of a growing, relatively passive and disenchanted sector of the population. Policy makers and researchers, as well as the mass media and the general public, may need a radical change of perspective in order to appreciate that the problem of ageing today is not just one of providing protection and care, but of the involvement and participation of the elderly and the ageing. Eventually, the transition to a positive, active and developmentally oriented view of ageing may well result from action by elderly people themselves, through the sheer force of their growing numbers and influence. The collective consciousness of being elderly, as a socially unifying concept, can in that way become a positive factor. Since spiritual well-being is as important as material well-being, all policies, programmes and activities should be developed to support and strengthen the spiritual well-being of the ageing. Governments should guarantee the freedom of religious practices and expression.

 

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