The success of this Plan of Action will depend largely on action undertaken by Governments to create conditions and broad possibilities for full participation of the citizens, particularly the elderly. To this end, Governments are urged to devote more attention to the question of ageing and to utilize fully the support provided by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including retirees' and elderly people's organizations.
Since wide divergencies exist with respect to the situation of the ageing in various societies, cultures and regionsCas reflected in different needs and problemsCeach country should decide upon its own national strategy and identify its own targets and priorities within the Plan. A clear commitment should be made at all levels of Government to take appropriate action to achieve those targets and give effect to those priorities.
Governments can play an important role with regard to the Plan of Action by evaluating and assessing the ageing process from the individual and demographic points of view, in order to determine the implications for development of these processes in the light of the prevailing political, social, cultural, religious and economic situation.
The architects of national policies and strategies for the implementation of the Plan of Action should recognize that the ageing are not a homogeneous group and be sensitive to the wide differences and needs of the ageing at various stages of their lives. Governments should pay special attention to improving the lot of elderly women, who are often at a severe disadvantage.
The establishment of interdisciplinary and multisectoral machinery within Governments can be an effective means of ensuring that the question of the ageing of the population is taken into account in national development planning, that the needs of the elderly are given the attention they merit, and that the elderly are fully integrated into society.
These actions will gain in effectiveness if their preparation, implementation and follow-up are well coordinated at various geopolitical levels. The coordination must flow from cooperation between those in positions of responsibility in all sectors and the representatives of pensioners and the aged, in order to ensure the participation of the latter when decisions of direct concern to them are being taken. Hence, it would be appropriate to consider the setting up of corresponding planning, programming and coordinating bodies at the national level.
In certain countries, some of the objectives of the Plan of Action have already been achieved; in others they may only be accomplished progressively. Moreover, by their very nature, some measures will take longer to implement than others. Governments are urged, therefore, to establish short-, medium- and long-term objectives with a view to facilitating implementation of the Plan, in the light of their resources and priorities.
Governments should, if necessary, retain in a suitable form (or encourage the formation of) the mechanisms established at the national level to prepare for the World Assembly on Ageing, in order to be ready to facilitate the planning, implementation and evaluation of the activities recommended by the World Assembly.
^Return to top
Return to Main Contents
