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The International Seminar on Family Support Networks and Population Ageing, a 2-day event was organized by Doha International Institute for Family Studies in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Special Program for Aging.
DOHA, Qatar / The Peninsula / June 4, 2009
Two UN officials attending a meeting in Doha yesterday called for national strategies to address “population ageing” that has posed major challenges before governments and societies all over the world.
Jose Miguel Guzman of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Alexandre Sidorenko, head of the UN Programme on Ageing addressed a seminar on “family support networks and population ageing” at the Millennium hotel yesterday.
The two-day seminar is organised by the two UN bodies in collaboration with the Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development and the Northwestern University.
Talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the seminar, Guzman and Sidorenko said the younger population was shrinking all over the world while the number of old people was on the rise.
“The low fertility and a consequent fall in the number of child births coupled with falling mortality rates and an increase in life expectancy have resulted in an ageing population all over the world. This has posed a major challenge before governments and policy makers,” said Sidorenko.
Migration is another factor that causes a demographic imbalance in societies since most of those migrating to other countries would be from the younger segment.
He said the problem had not yet become so serious in the Arab world when compared to the European and North American countries.
“The high fertility rates in the Arab world has kept the population here relatively younger. However, countries in the region can learn lessons from the rest of world and get themselves prepared,” he added.
He said economic and social security is a major problem facing the elderly all over the world and this can not be achieved only through support from families. The governments should come out with financial incentives for those supporting the old members of the family and establish day care centers for the elderly.
Guzman said the UNFPA’s role was to assist governments to develop policies on population issues.
Population ageing is now posing a major challenge to the developing countries, while the developed countries have already formulated policies and strategies to address the issue.
China, which adopted a single-child policy is now facing a drastic fall in the younger population and a rapid rise in the number of the old people.
This has forced them to come out with a national strategy to address the issue. Population ageing has emerged as a major issue in Latin American countries like Brazil and Mexico and even in some Arab countries like Tunisia and Morocco, he added.
The two-day conference features discussions on various aspects of population ageing and the role of governments, families and the society in addressing the issue.
© 2001 The Peninsula
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Related report
INTER PRESS AGENCY
N. Janardhan interviews
Jose Miguel Guzman, Chief, Population and Development Division, UNFPA
Q & A: South-South Cooperation Key to Tackling Ageing Populations
While explaining the reasons for rapid economic growth during the last decade and showcasing their potential for future development, many developing countries in Asia and Latin America highlight the strength of their youth population. But, they are also increasingly becoming aware of their aging populations - which could be converted into a source of strength rather than a liability.
Though the developed countries are still home to the most rapidly ageing populations, developing countries are set to outpace this trend rapidly. It is estimated that by 2020, over 70 percent of the people aged 60 years and above will be in developing countries.
To highlight the issues related to this phenomenon and to encourage all relevant actors to take proactive action, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development conducted a seminar on "Family Support Networks and Population Ageing."
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, which was held in collaboration with Northwestern University and the United Nations Programme on Ageing, Jose Miguel Guzman underlined the efforts of UNFPA, the challenges it faces and its plans for the future.
IPS: Is population ageing a social, economic or cultural problem?
JOSE MIGUEL GUZMAN: It is important to clarify that population ageing is not a problem in itself. It is a natural process. It is a consequence of an evolving societal process, which should be observed, understood and addressed. It is also wrong to identify ageing with issues linked to just old people or ‘grandparents’; it is an issue that should deal with all those who need help because of advancing age. Of course, this process has negative effects, but ageing is basically a result of demographic change and is rooted in positive developments like better healthcare leading to higher life expectancy and its ramifications.
While this process was gradual in the developed countries, it has been and will be rapid in the developing countries (for example, by 2050, China is expected to have over 300 million people above the age of 60 - which is almost as much as the entire current U.S. population). Further, unlike the developed countries, developing countries do not have a social security system to handle this increasing proportion of older people. In this sense, lack of effective remedial mechanisms or a safety net has been portrayed as a combination of social, economic and cultural problems - which societies and governments have not been ready to deal with, but should do so proactively to avoid adverse consequences.
IPS: What role has the UNFPA played to address these challenges?
JMG: The common perception is that we are waking up to this phenomenon only in recent years. In reality, however, the efforts to counter its impact dates back to at least 1982 when the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing was adopted. Remember, it was a period when ageing was an issue only for developed countries - and a very distant reality for developing countries. This was followed by the Madrid Plan in 2002, which underlined the right of ageing populations to a ‘good’ life.
In between, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was held in 1994 at Cairo. The key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of Action of the ICPD was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 - for addressing challenges of population ageing in the 21st century. UNFPA’s activities are conducted within this framework.
The focus since then has been on helping countries accept the recommendations, which all of them are not ready for. In particular, studies on ageing population are non-existent in many countries. China, Thailand and Cambodia, among others, are good examples of Asian countries that have conducted studies, as have some Latin American countries. The UNFPA is addressing this by encouraging more countries to start this important exercise as a first step.
Further, the UNFPA is helping countries develop national policies and laws dealing with this issue. For example, we helped the Dominican Republic government’s efforts to implement a law that existed in principle - but remained unimplemented for a decade.
We have also incorporated several programmes in Panama, Paraguay, Brazil and Mexico, among others. Though we do not have expertise in social security - which is a major issue - we are working with various governments to design and implement viable schemes.
IPS: Capacity building is considered a key to tackling this issue. How has this been coordinated and how successful has it been?
JMG: The UNFPA approaches capacity building through research, training, data collection, as well as assistance in policy making and implementation of laws. For example, we were active in setting up the International Institute of Ageing in Malta. We also train people working on ageing-related policies in their countries and support the United Nations Programme on Ageing, which targets national focal points.
Capacity building assumes greater importance because it transcends availability of economic resources. Even high-income countries in the developing world, such as the Gulf countries in the Middle East, need to have trained people in healthcare and care-giving facilities, for example, to handle population ageing.
Since the use of care-giving institutions for the elderly is not very popular in many parts of Asia, the Middle East and South America, the challenge is to address this cultural factor. Among the alternatives that should be devised and considered are community-level programmes that have been developed by others. For example, some developed countries have conclusively proved that merely ‘talking’ to elders gives them a sense of participation - thereby keeping them in better health. They could also be engaged in activities that may or may not generate income, or be introduced to information technology tools, including access to e-mails, Internet and Web-based social networks. Such measures of integration into society through setting up of community rooms could be adapted in developing countries because they do not require too many resources.
IPS: What trends have UNFPA observed and encouraged in terms of collaborative efforts between various groups and countries?
JMG: As part of our South-South cooperation efforts, the UNFPA is promoting sharing of experiences and practices between and among countries. We are encouraging comparative studies at the regional level and highlighting successful programmes in various countries so that others become aware of them and explore their adaption in some form or the other. For example, in Latin America, Cuba’s daycare centres for the elderly, Argentina’s community-level support systems and Brazil’s pension system in rural areas are all meritorious practices that are worth considering. We also think the efforts of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in setting up conferences and training for regional governmental and intergovernmental groups are a good example.
At a micro level, we also serve as an advocacy group and support non- governmental organisations and their interaction at the national, regional and global levels.
IPS: Asian and Latin American countries figure high on the UNFPA’s agenda. What about Africa?
JMG: Population ageing in Africa is not a pressing concern yet, but we are looking at future scenarios. UNFPA is already working on some integrated programmes related to HIV/AIDS and its impact on the role of grandparents in the upbringing of grandchildren.
Source: Inter Press Agency
