United Nations International Year
of Older Persons, 1999
Acccording to current projections, in 2030 every third person in several industrialized countries will be over 60. The picture is different for developing countries, where it is the speed of population ageing that catches the eye. It is estimated that it will take Tunisia 15 years for the cohort aged 65 and over to increase from 7 to 14 % (2020-2035) ; it will take Chile 30 years (2000-2030) to undergo a similar transition. By contrast, it took France 115 years (1865-1980), allowing ample time for adjusting to the socio-economic consequences.
Since population trends are foreseeable over long periods, and major changes in population structure have profound implications on many aspects of society, the feasibility of formulating a long-term perspective plan to the year 2020 is being explored. Related national initiatives reported during the UN General Assembly's plenary observance of the Year will contribute to the preparation of a 2020 strategy, including possibly the "agenda of the age".
At the present time, the UN programme on ageing is endeavouring to integrate two different approaches in its immediate and long-term plans, that is, addressing older persons as a distinct group in society while simultaneously seeking to dismantle the barriers that segregate older people from the rest of society.
Unprecedented in human history, the ageing of population is changing the shape of families, neighbourhoods and nations, giving rise to new kinds of housing, transportation, services, production and consumption patterns. These changes are being explored through the theme of the International Year - towards a society for all ages.
The WHO believes there are 150 million people with a severe sight problem in the world, the vast majority being over 60 years of age. This figure is bound to double over the next 20 years. The growth will be equally dramatic in developed and developing countries.
As part of awareness-raising initiatives launched to observe the Year, this issue of the EBU Newsletter focuses on the status, needs and potential strength of elderly blind and partially sighted people in Europe.
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