September 30, 2019

International Day of the Elderly

The Red Cross of the Republic of North Macedonia this year is also included in the celebration of October 1 – International Day of the Elderly.

This day is designated by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1990. Official data show that nearly 700 million people are over 60 years old. By 2050, 2 billion people, over 20% of the world’s population, will be 60 years of age or older. With this in mind, there is clearly a need for increased attention to the special needs and challenges that many older people face. Equally important, however, is the substantial contribution that most older men and women can make to the functioning of society if adequate guarantees are put in place. Empowering older people in all dimensions of development, including promoting their active participation in social, economic and political life, is one way of ensuring their inclusiveness and reducing inequalities.

The theme of this year’s International Day of the Elderly is focused on finding ways to tackle existing and prevent future inequalities in the old age. One of the goals of the Agenda 2030 and the objectives of sustainable development is to provide equal opportunities and reduce inequalities in outcomes, including through measures to eliminate discrimination and strengthen and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, regardless of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status. Often, differences in age reflect the accumulated disadvantage that is characterized by factors such as location, gender, socioeconomic status, health and income. According to the forecasts, by 2030, the number of people aged 60 and over is expected to increase from 901 million to 1.4 billion. In this regard, aging trends and economic inequality communicate across generations and rapid population aging, demographic and social or structural changes can only exacerbate inequalities in older years, limiting economic growth and social cohesion.

The theme for 2019 aims to:

– draw attention to the existence of inequality in old age and emphasize the intergenerational risk of increased inequality in old age;

– Raise public awareness to deal with existing and prevent future inequality;

– Explore social and structural changes in lifelong learning policies, proactive and adaptable work policies, provision of social and health care.

These global goals are part of our country’s policies that are aligned with the Madrid International Aging Action Plan. The Red Cross of the Republic of North Macedonia, as a member of the National Coordination Body for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of the Strategy for the Elderly, is actively involved and contributes to the overall efforts undertaken by the competent institutions in realizing the rights, necessary care and protection of the elderly in the country. .

On the occasion of the International Day of the Elderly, the City Red Cross of Skopje and the Red Cross branches will organize activities related to this year’s theme – emphasizing equality in old age in all spheres of social activity. Educational workshops on the rights of the elderly, informative workshops on issues of interest to the elderly, creative workshops on active involvement of the elderly are just some of the activities that will be implemented on the occasion of the day.

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