The General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1 October as the International Day of Older Persons by resolution 45/106 in 14 December 1990. The theme this year is “Older persons and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals”.
Today there are around 600 million persons aged 60 years or above, one in every ten. This number would double by 2025 and would reach virtually 2 billion by 2050, vast majority of them in the developing world. It presents a major demographic challenge for the world and the day is observed to raise awareness on the impact of an ageing population on the world's future. In this fast paced world, older people will increasingly play a critical role through their volunteer work, helping the families with caring responsibilities, increasing their participation in the paid labour force and in transmitting experience and knowledge.
Such contributions to the society by older people can be ensured only if they can enjoy adequate levels of health, for which appropriate policies need to be in place. While governments worldwide have the responsibility to guarantee policy formulation for the purpose, it is up to us, the common folks of the present generation, to make sure that older people are cared for and are not abandoned at old age homes on account of our convenience.
Source: Official websites of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation
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