Honourable Ministers, dear colleagues and friends,
Good morning, and welcome to WHO.
I thank Chile and the Group of Friends of Older Persons for co-hosting today's event.
Looking in the mirror every morning is a daily reminder that we are all getting older.
The number of people aged over 60 is expected to double by 2050.
Ageing populations are a sign of our success in preventing premature deaths from communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
But ageing in today's world brings its own set of challenges.
The United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing is our chance to work together to improve the lives of older people - now, and in the future.
And together, we have already made good progress, beginning with the rapid development of an implementation plan last year.
Since then, we have launched a multilingual platform, with all available data on ageing in one place;
We have published a baseline report and the first Global Report on Ageism;
Together, we have provided tools to respond to the needs of older people during the COVID-19 pandemic;
And we have supported countries to combat ageism, strengthen integrated and long-term care, and to build age-friendly cities and communities.
Making the world a better place in which to grow older takes a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach.
And it takes champions who devote their lives and careers to protecting and promoting the health of older people.
Today, we celebrate those champions.
The Healthy Ageing 50 recognises leaders from communities, civil society, academia, business and government.
On behalf of our partners, I have the honour of recognising these world-changing leaders, who inspire us by showing what can be done to improve health and wellbeing for older people - and how to do it.
These leaders have been transforming how people think, feel and act about ageing;
Designing and implementing initiatives to empower older people;
Developing opportunities to provide person-centred and integrated care to older people;
Helping to create age-friendly rural and urban communities;
Scaling quality home-based care provision so people can age with dignity in their own communities;
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Developing programmes that bring generations together;
Creating opportunities for lifelong learning;
And strengthening coherence across government policies.
These leaders are adults of all ages - showing that age is no barrier to making a difference.
Thirty-six are women, and 29 come from low- or middle-income countries.
Even as we celebrate these leaders, we recognize that individuals alone cannot do it all.
Let me leave you with three priorities:
First, to realize the promise of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, we must work together with one purpose - governments, NGOs, business associations, philanthropic foundations and academics.
Today, we are proud to announce the new Healthy Ageing Collaborative, a network of governments, universities, civil society organizations, international agencies, the private sector and others that are working to advance the Decade Plan of Action.
Second, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed huge gaps in policies, systems, and services for older people. We must address these gaps now.
Third, we must continue to hear the voice of older people and engage them meaningfully throughout the Decade and on all issues that concern them.
Thank you all once again for your continued partnership as we work together to add years to life, and life to years.
I thank you.
