DUSHANBE, February 29, Asia-Plus — A roundtable discussion formally titled “Demographic Aspects of Ageing and Older Population in Tajikistan,” hosted by the Center for Strategic Studies on February 28, resulted in adoption of a resolution, which urges the necessity of preparing proposals on working out a national concept on improving living standards of elderly people.
The meeting participants included representatives from the parliament, ministries of labor and health, state committee for statistics, as well higher educational institutions and a number of international organizations active in Tajikistan.
A specially set up working group is to prepare a package of documents for ratification of the Madrid International Plan of Actions on Ageing and submit it for consideration to the government within the framework of the National Development Strategy designed for the period till 2015 and the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
The meeting participants expressed intention to initiate development of a national program for use of potentials of knowledge, opportunities, wisdom, experience and spirituality of older generation as an important component of economic development of the country.
The resolution also points to the necessity of creation of favorable tax-legal foundations for elderly people in order that they would have an opportunity to get additional benefits improve their living standards on their own through free economic activity.
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing
adopted at the first World Assembly on Ageing in Vienna in 2002, has guided the course of thinking and action on ageing over the past 20 years, as crucial policies and initiatives evolved. Issues of human rights for older persons were taken up in 1991 in the formulation of the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, 2 which provided guidance in the areas of independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment and dignity.
The 20th century saw a revolution in longevity. Average life expectancy at birth has increased by 20 years since 1950 to 66 years and is expected to extend a further 10 years by 2050. This demographic triumph and the fast growth of the population in the first half of the twenty-first century mean that the number of persons over 60 will increase from about 600 million in 2000 to almost 2 billion in 2050 and the proportion of persons defined as older is projected to increase globally from 10 per cent in 1998 to 15 per cent in 2025. The increase will be greatest and most rapid in developing countries where the older population is expected to quadruple during the next 50 years. In Asia and Latin America, the proportion of persons classified as older will increase from 8 to 15 per cent between 1998 and 2025, although in Africa the proportion is only expected to grow from 5 to 6 per cent during the period but then doubling by 2050. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the struggle with the HIV/AIDS pandemic and with economic and social hardship continues, the percentage will reach half that level. In Europe and North America, between 1998 and 2025 the proportion of persons classified as older will increase from 20 to 28 per cent and 16 to 26 per cent, respectively. Such a global demographic transformation has profound consequences for every aspect of individual, community, national and international life. Every facet of humanity will evolve: social, economic, political, cultural, psychological and spiritual.
