World Health Organization Global Report on Ageism: Age people are subjected to a socially-acceptable form of discrimination.
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On 18 March 2021, the United Nations through the World Health Organization released a report on ageism which explain that we can and must prevent ageism and that even small shifts in how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing will reap benefits for individuals and societies. Ageism is a stereotype/discrimination against individual or groups based on their age.
Most often, old people are neglected and as a result, they are sent to rural areas especially in developing countries. In rural areas, the provision of services such as health care and standard living conditions is very poor. Access to pension some time is also a problem in developing countries.
Though the violation of the rights of majority older persons based on their age continues to leave a lacuna in the promotion and protection of human rights, there has not been a specific global instrument targeting the promotion and protection of age people. Age is part of the life process and there is a need for the global community to start thinking of the rights of age persons. Sometimes single age people (age persons who do not have children) turn to suffer more because they are occasionally abandoned.
Below is the message from the United Nations Secretary-General. “Ageism is widespread in institutions, laws and policies across the world. It damages individual health and dignity as well as economies and societies writ large. It denies people their human rights and their ability to reach their full potential. Despite its pervasive nature and harmful impacts, ageism still lacks a solid knowledge base of dedicated research, information, disaggregated data and systematic trends analysis. This new Global report on ageism fills this gap and underscores the need to adopt a forward[1]thinking, rights-based approach that addresses the underlying societal, legislative and policy structures that support long-standing assumptions about ‘age’ across the life course. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on older persons. Intergenerational solidarity must be a touchstone in our efforts to recover. Older persons have also made important contributions to the crisis response, as health workers and caregivers. Women, for instance, are over-represented among both older persons and among the paid and unpaid care workers who look after them. My policy brief on older persons and COVID-19, released in May 2020, highlights the need to recognize the multiple roles that older persons have in society – as caregivers, volunteers and community leaders – and underscores the importance of listening to the voices of people of all ages, valuing their contributions and ensuring their meaningful participation in decision-making. Addressing ageism is critical for creating a more equal world in which the dignity and rights of every human being are respected and protected. This is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world’s agreed blueprint for building a future of peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet. In that spirit, I commend this report to a wide global audience and look forward to working with all partners to uphold the promise to leave no one behind.”
Preface of the Global report on Ageism
COVID-19 has affected people of all ages, in different ways. But beyond the impacts of the virus itself, some of the narratives about different age groups have exposed a deep and older malady: ageism. Older people have been often seen as uniformly frail and vulnerable, while younger people have been portrayed as invincible, or as reckless and irresponsible. Stereotyping (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) based on age, are not new; COVID-19 has amplified these harmful attitudes.
This global report on ageism could not be timelier. Its main message is that we can and must prevent ageism and that even small shifts in how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing will reap benefits for individuals and societies.
This report shows that ageism is prevalent, ubiquitous and insidious because it goes largely unrecognised and unchallenged. Ageism has serious and far-reaching consequences for people’s health, well-being and human rights and costs society billions of dollars. Among older people, ageism is associated with poorer physical and mental health, increased social isolation and loneliness, greater financial insecurity and decreased quality of life and premature death. Ageism, in younger people has been less well explored in the literature but reported by younger people in a range of areas including employment, health and housing. Across the life course, ageism interacts with ableism, sexism and racism compounding disadvantage.
To achieve the long-lasting, vastly better development prospects that lie at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals, we must change the narrative around age and ageing. We must raise visibility of and pay closer attention to ageist attitudes and behaviors, adopt strategies to counter them, and create comprehensive policy responses that support every stage of life.
In 2016, the World Health Assembly called on the World Health Organization to lead a global campaign to combat ageism in collaboration with partners. The Global Report on Ageism, developed by WHO in collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Population Fund, informs the campaign by providing the evidence on what works to prevent and respond to ageism. We all have a role to play in preventing and responding to ageism.
The report suggests steps for all stakeholders – including governments, civil society organizations, academic and research institutions and business – to enforce new and existing policies and legislation, provide education and foster intergenerational contact for the benefits of people of all ages.
As countries seek to recover from the pandemic, people of all ages will continue to face different forms of ageism. Younger workers may be even less likely to get jobs. Older workers may become a target for workforce reduction. Triage in health care based solely on age will limit older people’s right to health. We will have to tackle ageism in and after this crisis if we are to secure the health, wellbeing and dignity of people everywhere. As countries build back better from the pandemic and to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, all must adopt measures that combat ageism. Our driving vision is a world for all ages, one in which age-based stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination do not limit our opportunities, health, wellbeing and dignity. We invite you to use the evidence in this report to help this vision become a reality
Read/download the full report through the following link:9789240016866-eng.pdf (who.int)
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
