October 1: International Day of Older Persons Observed

The International Day of Older Persons is observed to highlight contributions made by the older population to the society. It aims at raising awareness of opportunities and challenges of ageing in the world.

According to the United Nations, between 2017 and 2030, the number of persons in the age group above 60 years will grow from 962 million to 1.4 billion. This is expected to be greater than youth and children under the age 10.

Theme: “The Journey to Age Equality”

The theme is aligned with SDG 10 – To reduce inequalities. This includes promoting their active participation in social, economic and political lives. The theme of 2019 aims at the following

• To create awareness about the existing old age inequality
• To explore societal and structural changes that aims to bring social protection for the old population
• Change the negative narratives involving old age.

India

Around 10 crore old age people live in India. Out of that 1.5 crore live alone. The crime cases against older population in India has increased since 2014. It was around 14,000 in 2014 and has increased to 16,000 in 2016.

Background

The first International Day of Older Persons was observed by the United Nations in 1990. It was observed following several initiatives like Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing in 1982 and Madrid International Plan of Action on ageing in 2002.

Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing

It is the first international conference on ageing. It was endorsed by the United Nations in 1982. The purpose of the plan was to strengthen the capacities of the governments to deal with the dependency of older people.

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing

It was the second international conference after the first conference in Vienna. It issued new bold agenda handling the issues of old people in 21^st century.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2019