Ageing and Life Course

World Health Day 2012 - Good health adds life to years

Helmut Wirz discovered a passion for bungee-jumping at the age of 75.
Karsten Thormaehlen

4 April 2012 -- Ageing and health - to which each and every one of us can relate - is the theme of this year's World Health Day. Using the slogan "Good health adds life to years", campaign activities and materials focus on how good health throughout life can help older men and women lead full and productive lives and be a resource for their families and communities.

WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities

WHO/ Harold Ruiz

1 April 2012 -- The Network was established to foster the exchange of experience and mutual learning between cities and communities worldwide. Any city or community committed to creating inclusive and accessible urban environments to benefit their ageing populations is welcome to join.

First international age-friendly cities conference

WHO/Tom Pietrasik

December 2011 -- The conference took place in Dublin, Ireland, to strengthen the WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and advance thinking and approaches on how to make cities more age-friendly. It brought together a broad range of leaders and senior managers from members of the Network, senior managers of municipal authorities, CEOs interested in or already championing an Age-friendly City initiative.

fact buffet

2 billion2 billion people will be aged 60 and older by 2050. This represents both challenges and opportunities.

10 facts on ageing and the life course

4-6%Around 4-6% of older persons in high-income countries have experienced some form of maltreatment at home.

Fact sheet: elder maltreatment

25-30%of people aged 85 or older have some degree of cognitive decline.

Facts about ageing

About the topic

Ageing and life-course

Populations around the world are rapidly ageing. This is a cause for celebration. In part it reflects our successes in dealing with childhood disease, maternal mortality and in helping women achieve control over their own fertility.

Interesting facts about ageing

The world population is rapidly ageing. Between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will double from about 11% to 22%. The absolute number of people aged 60 years and over is expected to increase from 605 million to
2 billion over the same period.

Fighting stereotypes

We all generally value and respect the older people we love or know well. But our attitudes to other older people within the broader community can be different. In many traditional societies, older people are respected as "elders". However, in other societies, older women and men may be less respected.

What WHO is doing

WHO's activities related to ageing in the areas of health services, rehabilitation and long-term care, prevention of disease, and other activities.


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