The confluence of forces impacting countries around the world is challenging, if not dismantling, the systems and programs in place to support people as they age. These include dramatic political shifts, anti-immigrant biases, funding decisions that diminish support for social care, workforce shortages, and the sheer number of older people coupled with a shrinking number of younger people in many countries. Each of these by itself distracts from a needed focus on supporting older people. Together, they signal an emerging calamity.

Decisions made by governments are a reflection of their values. The livelihood and well-being of older people, those who built our communities and have contributed in countless ways to society, seem to be falling farther and farther down the value chain. For too long, too many governments have overlooked the realities of population ageing and its implications. This phenomenon is not breaking news or a surprise. Demographers have forecast the fact that the older population of the world will grow exponentially for decades. As yet, we as individual nations and collectively as a world, are woefully unprepared. With population ageing comes the need for services, supports, affordable and adequate housing, a trained workforce, social protection, and a commitment to honoring the rights of older adults. The unwillingness to meet those needs has and will continue to place an undue burden on families and local governments.

As a global community of providers of services and supports for older adults, the vision of the Global Ageing Network is a world in which every older person can age with dignity, respect, and access to quality care and supports. We, the members of the Network, do our part every day to realize that vision, often cobbling together the necessary resources. But, the situation is not sustainable. We urge governments to consider the well-being of their older citizens as they make decisions about the allocation of resources. The consequences of NOT doing so are monumental: older people unable to access services due to lack of staff and funding, older people who are unhoused due to lack of affordable options, older persons whose basic rights as contributing members of society are not honored and so much more. We can and must do better.

Katie Smith Sloan |  Executive Director | Global Ageing Network