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IFA 17th Global Conference on Ageing - YEBO/YES! Action on Ageing: Evidence/Policy/Practice
Dates: September 9th to 12th, 2025
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Themes:
- Immunization for all ages
- Long-term care and improving function
- Connecting ageing and the Economy
- Improving practice through digital technologies
- Building Capacity in Low/middle-income Communities: Policy and Good Practice
- Healthy ageing
- Family, intergenerational
- Human rights (Ageism / Abuse, etc.)
- Age-friendly environments
Stay tuned for more details on this event that promises to shape the future of aging!
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IFA attends the UN’s 62nd Session Of The Commission for Social Development (CSocD62)
Dr. Anjali Tripathi and Ms. Mitali Mistry had the pleasure of attending the UN’s 62nd Session Of The Commission for Social Development (CSocD62) held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York early this February alongside IFA’s UN Representatives.
IFA’s attendance at the 62nd Session of the Commission involved participation through High-level panel discussion, side events, and the Civil Society Forum. At the core of these discussions was the opportunity to review relevant UN plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups, which included reviewing the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) as well as family issues, policies, and programmes.
IFA had the opportunity to deliver an oral statement on the situation of social groups including youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, and family. Within this statement, the IFA advocated for the rights of older persons, following the message that no one should be left behind. As such, the IFA called on Member States, civil society, and industry to collectively address the inclusion of older persons in the policies and programmes on the priority theme of eradicating poverty, and by doing so, acknowledge the urgent need for drafting a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons for the protection of older persons.
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IFA launches new advocacy tool for shingles vaccination – The Shingles Atlas for Adult Vaccination (SAAV)
On the 28th of February 2024, the IFA launched its new advocacy tool for shingles vaccination, called the Shingles Atlas for Adult Vaccination (SAAV). It was launched with an international webinar, which had expert speakers Dr. Prateek Lala and Ms. Lucie Bucci present on shingles disease and vaccination impact on older adults and on advocacy strategies to support comprehensive vaccination policy, respectively.
Due to the startling lack of a comprehensive vaccination policy for shingles, there is a need to bridge the gap in understanding where countries can make improvements in their policies to ensure more adults are receiving this vaccination. As a result, the overarching goal of the SAAV is to essentially improve the awareness of shingles vaccination and to increase uptake rates for adults around the world, through influencing policy.
The SAAV provides up-to-date and easily accessible information and data on country-specific shingles vaccination across 8 main categories, including National Vaccine Recommendations Process, Shingles Vaccines Recommendations and Schedules, Adult Shingles Vaccine Funding, Vaccine Coverage Rates, Monitoring Mechanisms for Vaccination Coverage, Prevalence Rate on Burden of Shingles, Shingles Vaccination Pathway, and Barriers to Shingles Vaccination.
The IFA’s intention with this advocacy tool is to help provide evidence to influence and shape policy, as decision and policy makers will easily be able to acquire this knowledge from the SAAV and use it to implement strategies towards vaccination policy changes for shingles vaccination.
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Changing Mindsets: Let’s make ear and hearing care a reality for all
As reported by the WHO World Report on Hearing, globally, more than 1.5 billion people experience some degree of hearing loss, which translates to about 1 in 5 people, worldwide.(1) By 2050, this number is expected to grow by 60% to 2.5 billion, which means that 1 in 4 people will experience hearing complications.(1) This trend parallels the rapidly ageing global population. By 2050, the projected number of persons aged 60 years and older will double to 2.1 billion people, and the subpopulation of those aged 80 years and older is expected to triple to an estimated 426 million individuals.(2)
As a result of the urgency of hearing health, World Hearing Day, which is held on March 3rd each year, provides global awareness of hearing impairment, including raising awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world. This year, the theme of World Hearing Day ‘Changing Mindsets: Let’s make ear and hearing care a reality for all!’ will focus on overcoming the challenges posed by societal misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets through awareness-raising and information-sharing, targeted at the public and health care providers.
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Announcing the First French Edition of the Age-Friendly Environments ECHO Programme!
The IFA, in collaboration with the WHO and with the significant support of the Centre de recherche sur le vieillissement de Sherbrooke, is pleased to announce the first edition of the Age-friendly Environments ECHO programme in French!
Held from 3 April to 22 May, the programme will feature lectures from distinguished experts such as Dr Samuèle Rémillard-Boilard from the University of Sherbrooke and Dr Angélique Giacomini from the Réseau Francophone des Villes Amies des Aînés along with other age-friendly leaders in The Francophonie. Learn more here or subscribe to the WHO’s Age-friendly World newsletter to be updated on the next English edition, which will be held in October 2024.
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German NITAG Announces Appointment of Geriatrician, Advancing a Life Course Approach to Immunization
National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (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. NITAGs play a key role in advancing immunization policy, supporting a life course approach to immunization, and thereby fostering healthy ageing.
Last year, IFA released a high-level review of 34 country NITAGs which examined the process, rigour, transparency, accountability, and composition of experts in line with the life-course approach to immunization. Study findings led to the key recommendation that NITAGs broaden the composition of their members to better align with the life course approach to immunization and guide comprehensive national vaccination programs beyond childhood.
Germany has recently released landmark news of the appointment of a geriatrician to its NITAG, the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO). This decision, in addition to the continued inclusion of general practitioners, represents a great step forward in prioritizing a life course approach to immunization and strengthening the membership and expertise within NITAGs to support the needs of older adults within Germany and further setting an example at an international level.
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IFA Participates in Webinar Supporting a Life Course Approach to Immunization in the Americas
IFA was pleased to participate in a recent webinar organized by the Pan American Health Organization to improve vaccination as a means to support healthy ageing.
The webinar's objective was to disseminate the content of the technical document “Achieving better immunity: the life course approach for healthy longevity” and explore the application of the life course approach to national immunization programs.
FA presented current efforts and strategies to drive policy to support a life course approach to immunization.
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Global Rally for a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons: Call on Your Government to Support a Convention!
The Global Rally on 8th – 14th April 2024 is a key part of the Age With Rights campaign held by the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older Persons (GAROP). It is an opportunity for people around the world who support the stronger protection and promotion of older people’s human rights to unite and call on governments to take action by supporting a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
In May 2024 governments will be gathering at the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA14) to consider intergovernmental negotiated recommendations developed by H.E. Ms. Ana Paula Zacarias, Permanent Representative of Portugal, and H.E. Mr. Ronaldo Costa Filho, Permanent Representative of Brazil as co-facilitators to facilitate the consideration of the existing international framework of the human rights of older persons and the identification of possible gaps in the protection of the human rights of older persons and how best to address them. See here for a summary table of possible options to address the gaps.
From our colleagues at GAROP: “Older people tell us they face violence, abuse and neglect and struggle to access justice. They face health problems and cannot access the care and support they need. And they can find themselves unable to live their lives with dignity because they cannot enjoy these and other human rights. Older people are invisible in the current international human rights framework.”
Older people want to be seen, they want to be heard and they want to fully realise their rights. Sign GAROP’s petition urging governments to start drafting a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons and learn how you can contribute to the Global Rally here. Ms Ellen Graham will be speaking more about the Global Rally and the OEWGA14 on April 5 on the IFA’s Global Cafe, we hope to see you there!
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55th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission: Data Equity for Older Persons
Data-informed policies respond to challenges and barriers that individuals may experience. However, data must be reflective of actual conditions or policies will not be effective. The 55th Session of the UN Statistical Commission met from 27 February to 1 March on the theme of ‘Better Data, Better Lives’. During the Session the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Titchfield City group, Ghana Statistical Services and the United Kingdom Office of National Statistics, launched the report “Making Older Persons Visible in the Sustainable Development Goal’s Monitoring Framework and Indicators”.
Panellists from National Statistical Offices around the world discussed how data disaggregation and data collection efforts can make older persons visible in the Sustainable Development Goals and in the context of a life course approach focusing on health for all.
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Commission on the Status of Women: Include Older Women in Poverty Interventions
The 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), focusing on the theme ‘Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective’ will meet from 11 to 22 March 2024 at UN Headquarters in New York.
The World Report on Ageing and Health shares that intrinsic capacity, compromising of all the mental and physical capacities that a person can draw on, is clearly influenced by socioeconomic position, with those in a low socioeconomic position having a far lower intrinsic capacity than those in a higher socioeconomic position.
Those who lack sufficient income, social protection, and compensated work are at high risk for poor health and destitution. Older women disproportionately belong to this group while also being significant providers of care to their communities. Learn more about CSW68 here and reflect on how the intersections of age and gender influence older women’s experiences. Dr. Cynthia Stuen will be delivering an oral statement during CSW68 in her role as the IFA’s Main UN Representative.
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Try Home Sharing
New York Foundation for Senior Citizens (NYFSC)’s free Home Sharing Program has been in existence for more than 40 years.
It provides a free service that matches responsible, compatible ‘guests’ with those looking to share their home, ‘hosts’. Adults ages 18 or older are eligible, but at least one of the participants must be age 60 or older.
To ensure the safety of Home Sharing hosts and guests, comprehensive, confidential intake screenings and background checks are conducted by NYFSC’s licensed social work staff.
When it comes to determining compatibility, they use a proprietary database to match lifestyle preferences with 31 criteria, such as whether smoking or pets are allowed in the home. However, even if a host and a guest are a perfect match according to the database, the program’s social workers carefully review candidates to assess whether they are in fact compatible.
NYFSC also arranges over-the-phone and in-person ‘match meetings’ and assists with the negotiation of shared living agreements.
In some cases, a service exchange can lower or eliminate financial contributions altogether. An exchange can include services such as assisting with errands or remaining in the home at night in case of emergency.
For further information about NYFSC’s free Home Sharing Program, visit: nyfsc.org, email homesharingnyfsc@gmail.com or call: 212-962-7559 and ask for Home Sharing.
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IFA Global Café Archive
If you were unable to attend any of the IFA Global Café sessions, we have great news for you! All past sessions, along with valuable resources and materials, are now accessible on our website. Whether you're interested in exploring specific topics or simply want to catch up on the insightful discussions, you can conveniently view the recorded sessions at your leisure.
We invite you to visit our website to experience the wealth of knowledge and expertise shared by our distinguished speakers and panelists. Don't miss this opportunity to engage with the thought-provoking content from the IFA Global Café series.
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