May 2022
Nicholas Breton rightfully described May as "the month wherein nature hath her fill of mirth and the senses are filled with delights".
Happy May! Scroll down to get your monthly dose of updates from the IFA.
IFA Celebrates Vision Health Month
This May, IFA celebrates Vision Health Month. Vision health is of utmost importance for healthy ageing, maintaining functional ability and ensuring good quality of life.

Older people disproportionately experience vision impairment with 73% of vision loss occuring in adults 50 years of age and older. As the global population ages and with increasing prevalence of chronic disease, there is a need to ensure appropriate and timely vision care for all.

IFA’s Eye See You campaign and DR Barometer Program aim to influence policy and advance vision care in alignment with WHO’s World Report on Vision. Both bodies of work focus on mobilizing evidence to influence policy and practice around ageing and diabetes-related vision complications.
Newly Launched: Influencing Adult Pneumonia Vaccination Policy
Older people and those with underlying chronic conditions are at high-risk of complications from vaccine preventable diseases, including pneumococcal pneumonia. Across nearly two decades, deaths from pneumonia among adults more than 70 years of age increased by 60%. Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality amongst older people. Pneumococcal pneumonia is vaccine preventable and recommended for older adults in many countries, yet vaccination uptake remains suboptimal in this group.

The newly released “Influencing Adult Pneumonia Vaccination Policy” assessed pneumonia vaccination policy, public health messages and campaigns for at-risk adult groups and older people across nine European countries, with the ultimate goal of improving uptake rates of pneumonia vaccination. The study finds that pneumonia vaccination is under-prioritized in public health messaging and campaigns and there is little engagement from key stakeholders. Concerted action is needed to improve awareness and uptake of pneumonia vaccination to save lives. 
Age-friendly Environments ECHO
The WHO and IFA are pleased to announce the completion of the first ever Age-friendly Environments ECHO education cycle and initiative under the Mentor AFE Program. This multi-session learning cycle, developed and guided by the needs of the community and aligned with approaches and guidance from WHO on Age-friendly cities and communities covered important foundational topics including key steps for establishing age-friendly cities and communities such as engaging and understanding the local environment, planning strategically, establishing and implementing action plans and monitoring and evaluating progress.
Understanding NITAGs to Improve Vaccination Uptake
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) four interconnecting facts make the case to implement a life-course approach immunization within the framework of healthy ageing, starting with a review of the nature, transparency, and accountability of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs). The International Federation on Ageing (IFA) has for over a decade been advocating for the implementation of vaccination policies that pay attention to people of all ages, particularly older people and those with chronic underlying medical conditions. 

NITAGs are multidisciplinary country-level expert committees tasked with providing independent, evidence-based advice to policymakers and program managers on immunization and vaccine policy issues. More than a decade has passed since the launch of the NITAGs, and to date there appears to be a general paucity of accurate information with respect to their governance, management, and impact. 

“Evidence to Action: A review of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs)” is a 34-country study across all WHO regions that will gather and synthesize for the first-time essential data on composition, mechanisms of operation, nomination and selection processes, mission and responsibilities, and recommendation processes.

National immunization plans largely focus on reducing mortality and morbidity in children, although the major burden of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) is in adults[i]. Fostering healthy ageing is a hallmark of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (the Decade) 2021-2030, yet the rates of adult vaccination are suboptimal globally. Improving the uptake rates of adult vaccination is an essential goal and responsibility of the IFA, and we believe that this study will highlight the lack of expert representation of NITAGs in the field of adult immunization. 

Source: [i] Doherty, T. M., Connolly, M. P., Del Giudice, G., Flamaing, J., Goronzy, J. J., Grubeck-Loebenstein, B., ... & Di Pasquale, A. (2018). Vaccination programs for older adults in an era of demographic change. European Geriatric Medicine, 9(3), 289-300.
IFA Webinars
Adult Vaccination Advocacy Toolkit (AVAT)
The IFA will be launching the Adult Vaccine Advocacy Toolkit (AVAT) early this year as a way to influence and help shape policy to improve uptake rates of adult vaccination, with a goal of helping to build the capacity and capabilities of civil society organizations.
IFA Post-15th Global Conference on Ageing Thematic Discussions Among Experts
In recognition of the exceptional calibre of content presented at the 15th Global Conference on Ageing in 2021 IFA in collaboration with AARP has developed a webinar series to build upon thematic areas, explore updates six months on, and create opportunities for further collaboration and innovation among global thought leaders.
What's happening outside the IFA?
Effect of the Pandemic on Older Women
With the global population aged 60 years or over projected to double in the first half of this century, and women living longer than men in all countries, older women are fast becoming a demographic majority. Yet women are particularly vulnerable to the social, health and economic impediments associated with old age because of a lifetime of economic disadvantage. They have lower income security, less access to land, housing and other assets, and are less likely than men to receive a pension. Older women are also more likely to face age-based discrimination than older men.
Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE)
Integrated care for older people (ICOPE) reflects a continuum of care that helps to reorient health and social services towards a more person-centred and coordinated model of care that helps optimize older people’s intrinsic capacity (physical and mental capacities) and functional ability. Successful implementation of WHO’s ICOPE approach requires coordination between multiple parts of the health and social care systems, through a multidisciplinary team that includes older people and their families, health and care workers, communities and civil society organizations.
Meeting the Social and Emotional Needs of Persons within Healthcare and our local Communities
In this article we look at how a person’s social and emotional needs and their associated physical, cognitive, cultural and spiritual intrinsic capacities can be better supported and encouraged within our communities. We look at two perspectives. In the first, Kahir Lalji looks at Social Prescribing and the formal healthcare system’s role in addressing social and emotional needs and personal interests through social prescriptions.
Increases in Africa’s Older Population Will Outstrip Growth in Any Other World Region
Africa’s population is exceptionally young compared to other world regions that have been aging at a fast rate: only 5.6% of Africa’s population was age 60 or older in 2020 compared to 23.4% in North America and double-digit percentages in every other world region. A U.S. Census Bureau report, Africa Aging: 2020, looks at the implications of population aging for Africa and its sub-regions and countries, now and in the future.
#AgeEquality
In these unprecedented pandemic times, ageism in a variety of forms has become a matter of life and death.

The #AgeEquality initiative aims to break down stereotypes and highlight the glimmer of hope in the dreary world by representing positive stories from around the world to help you reinstate your faith in humanity. The platform also aims to break down stereotypes of older people by showing their resilience, strength and tenacity throughout COVID-19 and beyond.
Have a story to share? Use #Agequality and tag @IntFedAgeing
For your monthly dose of age-positive stories, click here.
For submissions and questions, please contact rgupta@ifa.ngo